Piedmont CASA is in Fluvanna!

by Kate Duvall, President and CEO

As of July 1, 2023, we added Fluvanna County to our service area! We stand ready, willing, and able to provide the life-changing advocacy of Piedmont CASA Volunteers for any Fluvanna children who are placed in foster care due to allegations of abuse and neglect.

In preparation for this expansion, we have been working with a dedicated Advisory Group of Fluvanna County residents. They are helping us get to know the community, learn about local events, and form connections with potential Volunteers and supporters. We are so grateful for these Advisory Group Members...

Growing to Meet the Need

Meet the newest members of our staff!

Ann Douglas Irby, Event Coordinator

A strong dedication to supporting kids whose basic needs are not being met and a desire to give back to her community have led Ann Douglas Irby to Piedmont CASA, where she has been hired as its first-ever event coordinator.

Ann Douglas and her family live just blocks from CASA’s stately High Street home. She was already familiar with several individuals in the CASA universe...

Phyllis James, CASA Supervisor

Phyllis James did not stumble into her brand-new position as a supervisor for Piedmont CASA. She instead describes her pursuit of the job as a “very intentional process” that started in 2018, shortly after she moved to Charlottesville from Northern Virginia. Her son, WINA radio personality Jay James, suggested she look into the organization because of its excellent reputation in the community. “He mentioned it, and I tucked it away in my brain,” she recalls. “But I didn’t act on it right away...”

Why Piedmont CASA?

"As a dad myself, I was looking for a way to give back to the community and have a real impact on a child's life. CASA has been a perfect fit."

Casey Werderman

CASA Volunteer

CASA Works

Giving a family time for reunification

Court Reports are the centerpiece of a CASA Volunteer's advocacy. Last year, the courts accepted 99% of the recommendations made by our Volunteers - 407 out of 412. Here is one example:

Two young children were placed in foster care. Ten months in, the Department of Social Services (DSS) wanted to change the goal to adoption. Generally an adoption goal is not made so early in a case, particularly when the parents are working to get their children back. In her court report, the CASA Volunteer recommended that the goal remain return home. After reviewing her detailed report, DSS asked the court to reject approval of their own plan and accept the CASA plan. The court agreed. Thanks to the diligence and advocacy of our CASA Volunteer, this family still has a chance at reunification.

Piedmont CASA Blog

Piedmont CASA Voices

Big Thanks for Helping Hands

For 19 years, Emerson has been providing backpacks and school supplies for CASA kids

Since 2004, Piedmont CASA kids have been returning to school with the backpacks and supplies they need because the folks at Emerson have got their back.

From left: CASA Volunteer Michael Richards and CASA Supervisor Stephen Dufort in front of one of the cars they just loaded with backpacks. On the right: Guiman Zhang, one of the Emerson Angels. Not shown: the amazing Connie Conlon and Amy Schanz, project coordinators for Emerson.

Kiwanis Comfort Packs help older youth feel at home

When our young men and women move into their very first apartment, the Kiwanis Club of Charlottesville makes sure they each get a Comfort Pack - a laundry hamper packed with necessities like pots and pans and towels. Program Director Leah Cole, along with Bridges Coaches Rory Macgregor and Ashlie Muñoz Nieves, updated members on their work. Kiwanian Barb Ritter, who heads the Comfort Packs effort, gave everyone a peek into one of the housewarming gifts. At the end of the meeting, Club President Jim Hart presented Kiwanis bells to the CASA Team.

UVA SOM Volunteers spruce up the office

A group of first year students in the School of Medicine spent the afternoon painting a much-needed logo on the fence in our parking lot and putting together a bunch of office furniture. Big thanks to Anuradha Raghu, Sydney Miles, Anna Diederich, and Khalid Elhadi!

Girl Scout Troop 623 brings comfort to CASA kids

Four scouts came by the office to put together more than 26 Comfort Cases for kids entering foster care. They are packed with things like blankets, books, coloring books, socks, stuffed animals, shampoo, and more. The Comfort Cases are now at the Piedmont Family Care Closet, founded by CASA Supervisor Kati Naess and a long time Friend of CASA, Jennifer Winslow.

Meeting Our New Communities

NBC29 Community Connections

Piedmont CASA President Kate Duvall was on NBC29 to talk about our need for CASA Volunteers, and how important their advocacy is for children in foster care. Now that we are expanding into Fluvanna, Madison, and Orange - the need is even greater.

Madison County Fair

CASA Supervisors Kati Naess and Alison Taravella set up the PCASA tent and table at the County Fair. They were touched to see the hot air balloon painting honoring the late Judge Edward Berry, a beloved and longtime fixture in the courts for kids.

Palmyra Arts Festival

Here we are all ready for the festival to open. We attended our first festival in June, just before we started officially serving Fluvanna County on July 1. And now, three months later at our second festival, it was amazing how many more people knew about Piedmont CASA.

Madison Ministerial Assocation

President Kate Duvall was invited to speak at the August meeting of the Madison Ministerial Association. Here she is shown with Anne West, pastor of Piedmont Episcopal (Madison) and Grace Episcopal (Stanardsville) churches. Rev. West is also a Piedmont CASA Volunteer.

Fluvanna County Fair

President Kate Duvall and Program Director Leah Cole set up the PCASA table at the Fluvanna County Fair. It was a chance to meet folks and get some terrific artwork from kids - drawings donated to help us tell the story of CASA kids.

Getting to Know Fluvanna

Kate Duvall, accompanied by board members, CASA Volunteers, and staff, is making Piedmont CASA a familiar fixture in Fluvanna. We are grateful for the warm receptions - and thrilled that Fluvanna is becoming part of our team.

Kid's Choice Playhouse in Abode