Advocating for Kids

Everyone has a soft spot. For Newport Beach’s Chris Massey, it’s

children.

More than 3,000 children in Orange County are in the foster care

and the juvenile court system on an average day, and a large

percentage of them are in need of stable relationships and mentors.

Social workers and judges manage multiple cases and rarely have

time to focus on a single child. That’s where the Court Appointed

Special Advocates program (CASA) comes in.

The juvenile court appoints volunteers to serve as advocates for

children going through court proceedings.

The mentors work with children one-on-one and represent them in

court. They also spend time with the children every week, to help

them understand the case and the child’s needs.

The organization’s Orange County chapter was founded in 1985 with

help from the Junior League. It wasn’t until several years later that

it began developing into the successful nonprofit it is today,

serving hundreds of children in foster care each year.

Chris Massey was instrumental in developing the Orange County

chapter’s advisory board, which is the source of 70% -- about

$700,000 -- of the program’s funding. His wife, Pam Massey, got

involved when it was a Junior League project, which is how Chris

Massey learned about the organization.

“Chris really has been instrumental, especially in the CASA

advisory board and initially founding that board,” said Greg

Bradbard, director of development for the group’s Orange County

chapter. “It’s been that board that’s really enabled CASA to grow.”

Pam Massey said her husband recognized it as a wonderful program

and noticed its funding problems. At that time, the Orange County

chapter was able to serve only about 15 to 20 kids per year.

Fred Port, retired president of Callaway International, helped

created the advisory board for Court Appointed Special Advocates’

Orange County group with Chris Massey.

As a managing partner for Deloitte & Touche, Chris Massey has many

contacts within the business community. He and Port started

brainstorming on how they could improve the group by using their

business contacts.

Within a year, Port and Chris Massey co-founded the advisory

board. Pacific Life, Pacific Investment Management Company, Deloitte

& Touche and the law firm Gibson Dunn committed to raising money for

Court Appointed Special Advocates.

“Now there’s probably 25 to 30 companies that all are annually

committed to raising money -- at least $10,000 per company, and most

of them do a lot more,” Chris Massey said.

Last year, the group’s Orange County chapter reached 471 children.

Chris Massey said it’s an easy cause to sell because most

executives are surprised to learn that 3,000 kids in Orange County

are in foster care and that some of them average three to five home

placements a year.

“Once you hear how many kids in Orange County need this, I think a

lot of peoples’ hearts in Orange County go out to these kids,” Chris

Massey said. “Businesses should do more than just employ people. They

ought to be involved in charity.”

Local corporations are attracted to Court Appointed Special

Advocates in part because it’s an organization in which the employees

can get involved.

They do so by volunteering their time as mentors or by

participating in the annual holiday drive, Chris Massey said. Every

year at Christmas, the organization gives presents to more than 300

kids.

“There’s a lot of people who have worked really hard on CASA,”

said Pam Massey. “We deserve very little credit for its current

success. There’s just a lot of people who have done a lot of really

great things for the organization over the years.”

Although the Orange County group has grown and now reaches

hundreds of children, there are still at least 200 children on the

waiting list.

“With the number of people and the number of resources in Orange

County ... it’s almost silly that there are kids waiting,” Bradbard

said.

For more information on donation and volunteer opportunities,

contact Court Appointed Special Advocates Orange County by calling

(714) 619-5155 or visit o7www.casaoc.org. f7

The website for the national organization is

o7www.nationalcasa.org.

f7

FACTS ABOUT COURT APPOINTED SPECIAL ADVOCATES OF ORANGE COUNTY

* On any given day, there are 3,000 children in Orange County

placed outside their homes for their safety.

* Many children cycle through the foster care system more than

once -- 35% of children entering the system will experience 3 or more

placements within 12 months.

* More than 80% of CASA funding is used to train and support

volunteer advocates.

* There are 230 kids in Orange County on the waiting list for a

CASA caseworker.

* Each hour of CASA program staff time generates five volunteer

hours of direct support to a child.

o7Source: Greg Bradbard, director of development, CASA of Orange

Countyf7

* LINDSAY SANDHAM is the news assistant. She can be reached at

(714) 966-4625 or o7lindsay.sandham@latimes.comf7.