‘We’re Here To Make An Impact On One Child’s Life’: ALX Needs More Volunteers For Kids In Legal System

ALEXANDRIA, VA – Northern Virginia Family Services is looking for more volunteers to fill a crucial role for children who end up in their system, as for the first time, they have a waitlist of children waiting for special advocates.

Corina Solorzano, director of Alexandria and Arlington’s Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) Program, tells Patch that for the first time, she has a waitlist of 31 children who don’t yet have their own advocate to help them through the overwhelming child welfare or juvenile justice system. She says the region and the state seem to be experiencing a surge of need and she’s hoping to find more community members to take on the role.

While a child entering the juvenile justice or welfare system will be assigned an attorney or social worker as necessary, their CASA is the only person in that system who is paying attention solely to them or their families, Solorzano explains.

The CASA provides key information to judges about a child’s situation and helps connect all the different people and offices that take action when a child is removed from a home.

CASAs have four main roles, she said: gathering information about the child’s wellbeing, from medical records to education needs; facilitating communication from relatives or community members, for example, to social workers or attorneys; monitoring progress, for example, of parents or guardians through court-assigned programs; and finally advocacy, creating a complete, objective report for the judge who will be making crucial decisions for the child they are tasked with helping.

“Judges have said oftentimes our reports are some of the first that they read, because they’re very well informed,” Solorzano noted, and judges will sometimes specifically cite concerns from CASA reports at hearings to ensure they’re addressed.

Not having a CASA as a child navigates the legal system means that judges are less informed when considering their cases. Right now, the need is great.

“I think that if people were more aware, we’d have more advocates coming forward,” she said. Child abuse and neglect are happening in our communities “whether you turn a blind eye or not.” She says most of her CASA volunteers hear about the program through word of mouth, so she’s hoping to spread more.

Solorzano also says you don’t have to change the world to change someone’s world.

“Many people come in thinking that you’re going to change the system,” Solorzano said. “That’s not what we’re here for. We are here to make an impact on one child’s life. If we’re able to do that, you have done enough. You’ve done more than you can think of.”

People from all walks of life are encouraged to attend one of the monthly informational sessions to learn more. The next such session will be May 6. Intensive training classes will begin in September and new CASAs will be sworn in in November. Solorzano is hoping for another large cohort of volunteers, like the 21 sworn in last month.

Whether it’s making sure a child is getting visitation with siblings or has an education advocate from the community, this is a role that helps kids “not just in the child welfare system, but in all aspects of their lives,” she said. When you’re talking about children in key developmental states, “that goes a long way in a young child’s life."

Learn more about volunteering as a CASA here.