Roles & Responsibilities

Getting Started

After becoming a board member of a state or local CASA program, it is important for you to understand the roles and responsibilities of your new position. Many tools and resources are available to help you get started. 

By-Laws and Job Descriptions

A great place to start is familiarizing yourself with the by-laws and any written job descriptions that exist for board members in your program. Both of these documents often outline the expectations and duties of board membership. If your board does not have a written job description, check the resources below for examples to use in developing them. In addition, some states have rules and regulations for nonprofit boards as does the IRS. It is important that you have access to someone in the community that can help your board fully understand these requirements.

National CASA Standards

Board responsibility is addressed in Standard 5 of National CASA's standards for local programs and is equally addressed in the standards for state organizations. Additional expectations of governing board members are found throughout the standards. As a member of the National CASA network, it is important for for board members to be familiar with these standards.

Board Member Responsibilities

Richard Ingram in Ten Basic Responsibilities of Nonprofit Boards (2009) suggests the following are the primary responsibilities of a board:

1. Determine mission and purpose
2. Select the chief executive officer
3. Support and evaluate the chief executive officer
4. Ensure effective planning
5. Monitor and strengthen programs and services
6. Ensure adequate financial resources
7. Protect assets and provide financial oversight
8. Build a competent board
9. Ensure legal and ethical integrity
10. Enhance the organization's public standing

Resources for Understanding your Role

• BoardSource: What Every Board Member Should Know 
  This section of the website offers information on questions you should ask prior to joining the board, roles and responsibilities, and job descriptions, along with many other topics that might be of interest.
• Non-Profit Rescue: Board Roles & Responsibilities
• National CASA Moving Forward for Children training series. These modules are located in a password-protected section of our website. If you are interested in learning more contact your program staff. 
• State organizations exist in 46 states and can be another valuable resource for assistance with board development and training.