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John Morrison, a former Montana State Auditor/Commissioner of Securities and Insurance and now a senior partner at Morrison Sherwood Wilson & Deola (MSWD), recently distributed $50,000 to MTCASA through cy pres donations. These funds stem partly from a legal case John Morrison filed and won on behalf of more than 2,600 Montana businesses.

MTCASA hosted their first annual conference in Great Falls, MT at the Heritage Inn on September 28 & 29. Local program staff, volunteers, and board members attended the 2-day conference, where they heard from local judges, Office of Public Defenders, and more! This was a great opportunity to meet with other programs and share experiences and knowledge. Session topics ranged from volunteer recruitment and retention, liability and risk management, and the importance of the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA). 

MTCASA is honored to support our hard working local programs and plan to continue to provide this annual conference to provide valuable training and knowledge to CASAs.

MTCASA’s Conference was sponsored by the Montana Supreme Court Improvement Program (CIP) which strives to improve Montana’s court process for children in foster care.

MTCASA is grateful for the recent award of 1 million dollars ($500,000 in 2023 and in 2024) in TANF funding (Temporary Assistance to Needy Families) to support the expansion of services in existing local programs and bringing CASA to areas of the state where CASA does not currently exist. The award was made possible through the Montana Legislative Session vote to approve funding (HB2) to Montana CASA. Our thanks to Rep. Mary Caffero for sponsoring and carrying us through the session to this successful end. These funds will help to meet our mission of providing CASA services to every Montana child in need. Funds will be available to local programs by the end of summer via our state organization office and the Montana Department of Health and Human Services. Our office has increased our staffing capacity and will be launching a grant administration platform to adequately administer and oversee the grant. We are grateful for our partnership with TANF and DPHHS staff as they will be assisting us throughout the process. This award was a big win for Montana’s children and families served by CASA now and in future.