In 1991, more than 28,000 individuals acted as court appointed special advocates for children who were abused, neglected, or abandoned by their families. These advocates tried to provide the juvenile judges hearing the cases with information appropriate to their making a decision regarding placement of the children, taking into account the special needs of each child. The National Court Appointed Special Advocate Association (NCASAA) provides training, start-up grants, conferences, technical advice, newsletters, and resource materials to help these advocacy organizations serve the children in their area. The directory lists the CASA State organization, if any, and programs in each State, arranged alphabetically.