Volunteers Resource Guide

NCSC > Court Community > Volunteers > Resource Guide

Resource Guide

NCSC Contact

The use of volunteers within various operations of the state court system has proven to be an invaluable service: not only do volunteer programs help to meet the community’s desires for standards of improvement within the court systems, courts likewise utilize this assistance to better manage high caseloads. Volunteers have not only become useful in the proliferation of court-appointed special advocates (CASA) programs to help neglected youth, but likewise in mentoring programs, clerical work, and mediation.

Links to related online resources are listed below. Non-digitized publications may be borrowed from the NCSC Library; call numbers are provided.

CASA Resources

Lawry, M. Court Appointed Special Advocates: A Voice for Abused and Neglected Children in Court. (1997). National CASA Association A history of the CASA program, its purpose, and several success stories.

Rubio, Dawn Marie. Evaluation of the Arizona Court Appointed Special Advocates Program: Final Report. (1999). Denver, CO: National Center for State Courts, Court Services Division An NCSC evaluation of the impact of the Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) program in Arizona.

Bogle,T. G. Evaluation of the Virginia Court-Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) Program: Abstract. (1996). Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services This report presents the methodology, findings, and recommendations from an evaluation of Virginia's Court-Appointed Special Advocates Program (CASA).

National CASA Association Volunteer Training Manual. (2003). National CASA Association Volunteer training manual for the National CASA Association, includes the role of the volunteer, how to maintain the proper relationship with the child, and principles that guide CASA work.

A Manual for Increasing Diversity in CASA Programs. (2006). National CASA Association A manual detailing a plan to increase diversity in the Court-Appointed Special Advocates Program.

National Court Appointed Special Advocates Association Web Site. Provides resources for CASA volunteers, gives a brief history of the program, and highlights success stories.

Flynn, Tracy. Tips to Keep Volunteer Training Costs Down. (2001). National CASA Association A few tips for how to present quality volunteer training at the lowest possible cost.

Volunteer Management for Program Directors. CASA This site provides resources for beginning a volunteer program, dealing with uncooperative volunteers, and general guidelines for creating a positive relationship between volunteers and supervisors.

Guides and Manuals

Volunteer Guardianship Monitoring and Assistance: Serving the Court and the Community. (2011). American Bar Association, Commission on Law and Aging. This set of handbooks is adapted and updated with permission by the American Bar Association Commission on Law and Aging from a three-part manual produced by Legal Counsel for the Elderly of AARP for the National Guardianship Monitoring Program, developed under a grant from the State Justice Institute. These manuals include: Program Coordinator’s Manual, a Trainer’s Manual, and a Volunteer's Manual.

Lovko, Rae. Court-Community Relations Survey: Final Report. (April 1994). National Center for State Courts: Williamsburg, VA Survey done of all fifty states in final report form done on community relations and projects. The purpose of these projects, such as "Meet Your Judges" forums, is to educate and ferment public trust in the court system.

Del Preore, Jude. Volunteer Management in the Essex County New Jersey Family Court . (1988).

This report enumerates key characteristics of an effective volunteer program and provides recommentations to improve the management of the Essex County, NJ Family Court volunteer program.

Forty-Sixth District Court Volunteers in Probation Training Manual. Michigan 46th District Court This training manual provides information and guidelines that prepare volunteers to work in probation under the jurisdiction of the Michigan 46th District Court.

Clinton, W. Terry, III. Opening the Courts to the Community: Volunteers in Wisconsin Courts. (April 2000). Bureau of Justice Assistance Bulletin Lists and describes the twelve types of volunteer programs used in Wisconsin State Courts.

Recruitment and Training

Lovko, Rae. Court-Community Relations Survey: Final Report. (1994).

Survey done of all fifty states in final report form done on community relations and projects. The purpose of these projects, such as "Meet Your Judges" forums, is to educate and ferment public trust in the court system.

Jucovy, Linda. Recruiting Mentors: A Guide to Finding Volunteers to Work with Youth. (2001). Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Drawing on effective practices used by volunteer-based organizations and on research findings about mentoring, this manual describes recruitment strategies that programs can adapt to meet their particular circumstances.

Recruiting, Using, and Training Volunteers. American Probation and Parole Association Taken from "Peer Justice and Youth Empowerment: An Implementation Guide for Teen Court Programs"

Jucovy, Linda. Training New Mentors. (March 2001). Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention This manual provides material for training new mentors, including suggested activities for two workshops that, together, require between 5 and 6 hours of training.