Retired Navy Rear Adm. James McPherson’s service to his country included time as the judge advocate general of the Navy, under secretary of the Army and acting secretary of the Navy.
He’s now serving his community in Virginia Beach as a Court Appointed Special Advocate. Despite extensive legal experience, McPherson’s efforts over the past four years have not been as an attorney but as one of the volunteers who help neglected and abused children involved in matters before Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court judges.
CASAs, as they are called, advocate on behalf of children after extensive training and with support from the staff of the nonprofit Virginia Beach CASA. They handle one case at a time, working with children and other areas of the courts system to seek safe permanent homes for young people.
“I stayed in the Navy,” McPherson said. “I had a career, jobs after the Navy, and every one of those was a job that I could go home at the end of the day and say I made a difference today. And in this case, I can go home at the end of the day and say I made a difference in a child’s life today.”
Kate Kosky, CEO of Virginia Beach CASA, said the organization always needs volunteers committed to being passionate advocates for children. There are about 60 CASAs now, as well as other volunteers who support the nonprofit.
The organization served more than 160 children in Virginia Beach last year, but Kosky said they need more people to support cases of abuse or neglect. There’s a waiting list for CASAs, she said.
“You want the best for the child that you’re advocating for,” she said. “It’s also very important that you’re a dedicated volunteer. These volunteers put in a lot of time and a lot of hard work and dedication is definitely important.”
“It’s also very important that you come with an open mind and an unbiased perspective because we’re offering the judges information that gives them a well-rounded view of what that child is experiencing, the environment that they’re in and the situations that they’re experiencing.” Kosky said.
It’s not necessary to have legal experience. In fact most volunteers working with children in Virginia Beach aren’t from a legal background.
“We have retirees, teachers, counselors – many, many walks of life,” Kosky said.
CASAs receive extensive training on issues involved in the judicial system and writing a report for the court. CASA volunteers are different from a guardian ad litem, who is someone who represents a child from a legal standpoint.
“Our CASAs come at it from the nonlegal perspective,” Kosky said. “They are visiting the child weekly. Oftentimes, that is more often than what the social worker or guardian ad litem are able to do.”
Kosky said there is demand for more CASA volunteers to support judges in Virginia Beach.
Judge Adrianne Bennett sits on the bench in Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court in Virginia Beach and previously served as a guardian ad litem in her legal work.
In both roles, Bennett has seen the difference a CASA can make.
“They really bring the child to life before the court,” Bennett said. “It helps us make better decisions about the child. … It does require somebody who has a heart for kids and wants to make a difference in a child’s life.”
McPherson said some children assisted by a CASA may have few adults they can trust.
“We want to be consistent in that child’s life so we see them every week, maybe more than that,” McPherson said.
CASAs help pull together information from different aspects of complex matters involving multiple agencies.
“Our lane is the welfare of the child,” McPherson said.
Virginia Beach CASA is online and people interested in volunteering can call (757) 385-5819 to reach Jennifer Cass, director of mission advancement. Information about CASA organizations throughout Virginia is online.