Keeping Watch Over Children In the System

Court Appointed Special Advocate program staff member Ann Caulkins helps conduct a volunteer training session. (Mark Gail - Twp)

Sometimes, the intensity can make the work difficult. "These children have suffered tremendous pain," said Tim Stock, 67, a retired corporate lawyer who began volunteering seven years ago. "They are being separated from their parents, who may well have been abusive toward them, but they're still the parents and they love them. It's painful to see a child go through that."

But Stock and other volunteers said the benefits are worth any emotional toll. "The satisfaction of knowing that you've done something for these kids is beyond price," Stock said. "There was tremendous intellectual and professional satisfaction doing what I did as an attorney, but this is human, this is real. It's a different order of satisfaction."

Volkman, 64, a former Fairfax County Spanish teacher, began volunteering last year because being retired "wasn't enough to keep me busy. When I volunteer to do something, I do it wholeheartedly. You can't just step into a child's life and then step out in a week. It's a cause."

Darryl's mother, whose last name is being withheld to protect Darryl's privacy, began to tear up when she discussed Volkman and the CASA program. "This is heaven-sent for me. It's just such a blessing," she said. "I think it's amazing that she does all this without getting paid, to have to go to into people's homes and keep calling and school visits. It's quite a job."

After 20 years of abusing alcohol and such drugs as crack cocaine, Darryl's mother said she has been drug-free for 14 months. "CASA gives me a sense that it's going to be okay, that the smoke has cleared," she said.

Volkman said the woman has made great progress in getting her life together and is "a poster child, one of our success stories."

Yet problems linger. Darryl didn't have glasses for months after losing them and got his newest pair only last month. At a recent eye appointment, his mother learned that the eye disorder -- an imbalance in the muscles of the eyeball that can lead to functional blindness -- had spread to his other eye.

It was her inability to care for the problem, along with a skin condition characterized by boils that afflicted Darryl's 8-year-old sister, that landed her in juvenile court. A judge last year ordered the woman to take Darryl to an ophthalmologist and to take care of the condition.

On this recent Monday, Volkman enters the family's cramped living room to visit the mother and five of her seven children. Only Darryl and his sister are in the court system, but Volkman said the other children suffer from developmental delays and have problems in school.

The mother begins by saying she missed Darryl's follow-up eye appointment the previous week because she couldn't get a ride, and says she can't get another appointment until September. "I'm terribly upset," she says.

Volkman gently questions her, maintaining the air of an aunt or good friend. "I have some goodies," she says, toting a bag of Fourth of July glow sticks.

As the children gather, Volkman asks about summer school, camp and swimming, and gives an impromptu Spanish lesson. She asks repeatedly about Darryl's glasses and pays special attention to the 8-year-old sister, rubbing her back and running her hands through the girl's braids.

"Have you been drawing lately?" she asks the girl, whose skin condition has improved markedly. "You know what I want you to do? I'd like you to draw a picture of your whole family and give it to me, because I know you're good at art."

The girl agrees, and then happily volunteers that her birthday is coming up. "In this family, you probably have a birthday every month," Volkman says to laughter from the children.

Soon, the 15-minute visit is over, as is any chance that Darryl will keep his glasses on. It's time to go swimming.

"Yeah!" he yells.

"You all have a happy Fourth of July," Volkman says as she leaves. She will return within a few weeks. "It's going to take time," she says.