Northern Virginia Family Service (NVFS) gathers together each year to celebrate and thank donors, sponsors, and volunteers for contributing to NVFS’ efforts and to recognize the importance of building strong foundations to help others in need. As part of the 2025 Celebration of Service (formerly known as the Road to Independence Gala), which was held on Friday, May 9 at The Barns of Wolf Trap, NVFS created a video highlighting one recent landmark development, our merger with Stop Child Abuse Now (SCAN).
Highlights from the Celebration of Service:
Defending The Young
The merger with SCAN is helping to propel NVFS forward in our mission to assist children who have endured abuse or neglect, and how volunteers are making an important impact, especially when it comes to the work being done by Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASAs).
Amy Walker, the Director of Child and Family Wellbeing for NVFS, wants to bring attention to the efforts of CASA volunteers and the positive effect their energy has for children to be able to put their traumatic experiences behind them and move forward in a positive direction.
“NVFS and SCAN merged in January 2025,” says Walker. “Our goal is to ensure that every child who has endured abuse or neglect has an advocate to be their voice in court and ensure that every child has the services they need to thrive. NVFS supports the whole family. We are committed to have a positive impact for families now, and for future generations.”
In her praise for CASA volunteers, Walker goes on to explain how critical their role is in helping children and families.
“CASA advocates are the front line of the cases that we are working. They are meeting with the child regularly, but also with the family members, the caregivers, the teachers, the mental health professionals, their medical professionals, and providing that information to the judge for every court hearing. They are the eyes and ears of the court, but they are also the voice of the child.”
Boots On The Ground
Paloma Santiago-Adorno, who is a NVFS Court Appointed Special Advocate, provides her insights on what she does and why she feels the work being done is so important.
“I’ve chosen to be a Court Appointed Special Advocate because children are the most vulnerable of our society and they deserve all of the protections in the world,” she says in the video. “I have a full-time job, but I choose to do this type of volunteer work because I find it very important.”
NVFS currently has approximately 72 advocates. The pre-service training to become a CASA is 40 hours over the course of a six-week period. They also have an on-going commitment of 12 hours each year dedicated to continuing education. Obviously, the process to become one can be difficult and is time consuming, but for Santiago-Adorno, and our other dedicated CASA advocates, it’s worth every minute.
Making A Major Impact
Knowing that the young people she works with have been through very difficult times, Santiago-Adorno uses a soft approach to gain their confidence and build their trust.
“When I visit the children, oftentimes we’ll talk about what they’ve been doing in school, maybe read some of the books that they are reading so we have something to talk about,” she explains. “I like to keep things light, so they don’t feel interrogated.”
Santiago-Adorno admits that the work can be difficult, but also demonstrates how resilient these children are when they have an advocate working for them.
“Some of the issues that bring children into the CASA situation, the abuse and neglect, is heartbreaking, but can also be uplifting because children, they keep reminding me, is that they refuse to be defined by the worst thing that has ever happened to them, and that is a reason to do this work.”
According to Walker, studies show that children do better in so many ways when they have that at least one caring adult in their lives who ensures their needs are being met. Children graduate high school at a higher rate, their cases stay in court for shorter periods of time, they receive more services, they do more in school, and they have fewer behavioral problems.
Seeing Results
Santiago-Adorno shares that what some of the children under CASA care have been through is unimaginable to many of us and is difficult to think about. They have endured physical abuse, and in some cases sexual abuse, sometimes from the people who should be their primary protectors. Yet, with the right assistance and people who have their backs, those children are able to keep heading in a positive direction.
“One of the most gratifying things about doing this work is the resilience of the children,” says Santiago-Adorno. “No matter what they have been through they still have hopes and dreams. They still have a future that they are looking forward to, and they remind me of that every day.”
Heartfelt Thanks
Walker concludes the video with a thank you to all of the NVFS supporters.
“We couldn’t do this work without them, without every single one,” she says. “The children that we serve rely on us. It is essential that we as a community understand that it is our obligation to support these children, as one of our judges says, ‘…so that our children are able to become their most awesome selves.’”
We hope you’ll enjoy watching our 2025 Celebration of Service video on Paloma Santiago-Adorno, NVFS Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA).
If you’re interested in becoming a CASA volunteer, learn more by visiting this link.