The Childhood Arrivals Support and Advocacy Centre of Canada (CASA) supports young people who were brought to Canada as children and are living in Ontario with precarious or no immigration status (sometimes referred to as “undocumented” or “non-status”). CASA supports clients to understand and navigate the options available to them to regularize their immigration status, while connecting them with services and education to assist in pursuing their personal goals. At the same time, CASA engages in systemic advocacy to change attitudes, policies and laws that create barriers for young people with no or precarious immigration status.
CASA is the only Canadian organization specifically focused on non-status childhood arrivals — a particularly underserved, vulnerable, and silenced population. Founded in 2016, CASA was housed at Justice for Children and Youth legal clinic (JFCY) from 2020 to 2025. As of July 2025, CASA is an independent organization.
From our home-base in Toronto, we provide legal services and navigation support to a diverse client base across the province of Ontario, while our strategic initiatives raise awareness, build capacity, and advance progressive policies and practices in immigration, education and social service sectors on a national scale.