Train
Statewide core training, continuing education, recorded learning, and practical materials for advocates and staff.
About WACAP
Local programs do the advocacy. We strengthen the network behind them.
WACAP is the statewide association for Washington programs that train and support court-appointed volunteer child advocates. We connect programs, build shared capacity, and bring a statewide voice to the decisions affecting children and families.
32local programs
35counties served
1,250child advocates
3,000children served in 2024
Our statewide role
One network. Distinct local programs. A shared commitment to children and families.
Local child advocate programs recruit, train, and supervise volunteers who are appointed by courts to learn about a child’s circumstances and provide independent information and recommendations.
WACAP does not assign volunteers to cases or replace local program leadership. We provide the statewide infrastructure behind their work: core and continuing education, technical assistance, practical resources, peer connection, public awareness, and policy advocacy.
Our members include court-based programs, independent nonprofit programs, and Tribal programs. WACAP is an independent Washington nonprofit and is not affiliated with National CASA.
How we help
We make strong local advocacy easier to sustain.
Strengthen
Technical assistance, shared tools, and peer problem-solving that help programs build capacity and respond to change.
Advocate
A coordinated voice in policy and budget decisions that affect children, families, courts, volunteers, and local programs.
Connect
Relationships across programs, courts, public agencies, Tribal Nations, community partners, and statewide leaders.
Our commitments
The principles that guide our statewide work.
Children’s safety
We keep children’s safety, stability, relationships, and long-term well-being at the center of the work.
Family and belonging
We support advocacy that helps children remain safely connected to parents, relatives, siblings, culture, and community.
Strong local programs
We respect local knowledge while building shared tools, training, and support that make the statewide network stronger.
Informed advocacy
We promote careful inquiry, sound judgment, cultural humility, and recommendations grounded in each child’s circumstances.
Our history
Built in Washington, by local programs.
King County Superior Court Judge David Soukup established a volunteer Guardian ad Litem program so the court could better understand the long-term welfare needs of children in dependency cases.
Local programs and child-welfare stakeholders formed the statewide association to coordinate training, legislative advocacy, data collection, and public awareness.
The association became the Washington Association of Child Advocate Programs, welcoming Washington programs serving dependent children with volunteer guardians ad litem regardless of outside affiliation.
WACAP supports a diverse network of court-based, independent nonprofit, and Tribal programs serving communities across Washington.
People and governance
Led by statewide experience and local perspective.
WACAP’s board brings together program leaders, court administrators, judicial officers, and child-advocacy partners from communities across Washington.
Board of Directors
Cynthia WhippleChair · Whatcom County
Cheryl DuncanChair Elect · Island County
Ashley BryanPast Board Chair · Klickitat County
Anne McEvoySecretary · Grays Harbor County
Laura BentleICWA Committee Chair
Kati BrownWalla Walla County Child Advocates
Commissioner Tami ChavezSpokane County Superior Court
Jody JacobsenClallam County Juvenile Court Administrator
Shannon BurnsJefferson County Juvenile Court Administrator
Judge Kathryn Nelson, retiredPierce County
Judge Heather ShandSkagit County
Sandy BankstonKittitas County
Nina ThompsonSkagit County
Connect with WACAP
Questions about the statewide network?
We can help with statewide partnerships, training and technical assistance, public policy, or general questions about child advocacy in Washington.
Email WACAP19550 International Blvd.SeaTac, WA 98188