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.
All the latest on Orange County from Orange County.
Get our free TimesOC newsletter.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Daily Pilot.