Kandel Berry

 Contributed

Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) of Central Virginia saw a positive impact over the last year and hired Appomattox resident Kandel Berry as a full-time advocate manager. Berry took on the role in July.

Berry, who is one of the first CASA volunteers to serve in Appomattox, manages CASA volunteers in Appomattox County and Campbell County. She provides encouragement and support for the CASA advocates. It’s a passion of hers, having started out as a CASA advocate.

Volunteers with CASA are called CASA advocates. An advocate, once assigned a case, is invaluable in fostering relationships to know everything there is to know about a child in the court system. A CASA advocate, after getting to know the child’s parents, extended family, teachers, doctors and more, then proceeds to prepare the collected research in the form of a court report. The court report helps the judge make an informed decision with the child’s best interest at heart.

There’s more to this story in the current issue of the Times Virginian newspaper. Pick up a copy or subscribe at www.timesvirginian.com/subscriber_services to view the full article in the e-edition version.