Child Advocacy Centers and CASA: Champions for Children’s Voices

by Dominic Carter on 08/24/25

I Am the Child You Fight For

I am not just a keynote speaker — I am the child you fight for. What I’ve learned is simple and profound: CASA programs save lives across this country.

Fifty years ago, I sat alone in a Family Court judge’s chambers and revealed horrors no child should ever endure. My mother battled chronic paranoid schizophrenia and abused me in ways that nearly broke me. I had no father. My grandfather struggled with heroin addiction. My grandmother stepped in — kinship care before the term even existed.

Back then, CASA didn’t exist, nor did Child Advocacy Centers. I often wonder how different my life could have been if an advocate had stood beside me—someone to tell the court that my voice mattered and to fight for my safety. Instead, custody battles loomed, threatening to send me back into the very nightmare I was trying to escape....or if there were Child Advocacy Centers where I could tell my horrible story in a Child Friendly environment.

And yet, a judge once wrote words I’ll never forget: “This child will go on to great things in life.” That line became a lifeline. Today, I work to fulfill it—speaking for children still trapped in silence.

My story is difficult to hear, but impossible to forget. I’ve seen rooms rise to their feet—from all across the U.S. and Canada, and even Jamaica. Not because I’m a broadcaster or appeared in Oprah Winfrey’s Magazine, but because I survived what so many children are living right now. (Read the Oprah feature here: https://www.oprah.com/relationships/sexually-abused-men-is-your-husband-one-of-them)

I don’t just tell their story. I am their story.

What audiences take away:

• The ability to spot even earlier warning signs of abuse

•  Tools to support victims with empathy and effectiveness

•  Renewed strength to sustain hope in the face of secondary trauma            

• I speak nationwide to Child Advocacy Centers, foster parent associations, community action agencies, colleges, and advocacy organizations. Every time, my goal is the same: inspire hope, build resilience, and affirm the power of compassionate intervention.

My journey is told in No Momma’s Boy. Order a personally signed copy at www.DominicCarterOnline.com

Booking & media inquiries: Dominic.cartertv@gmail.com

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