SCAN's Snapshots of Hope
Sabrina Black
CASA volunteer
Part of the SCAN family since 1996
Since moving to the Washington DC area from Texas in 1988, Sabrina Black has worked as a paralegal for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Alexandria, helping to prosecute federal drug cases since 1989. Early on in this job, she saw a lot of young men and women wrapped up in the drug scene and she often wondered about their families – particularly their children. Following her mother’s example of community involvement and her own personal faith, Sabrina began looking for a way to give back to her community and help those children on the other side of the scene she saw in her daily work.
In early 1996, Sabrina saw an ad in the newspaper recruiting Court Appointed Special Advocate or CASA volunteers, and she called SCAN’s CASA Director to inquire more about the program. Soon, she applied to become a CASA volunteer. She completed a background check and 36 hours of training that spring and was sworn in by the Alexandria Juvenile Court and Domestic Relations Judge on June 5, 1996.
For the last 12 years, Sabrina Black has served as one of SCAN’s CASA volunteers for children who are in the court system because of abuse and neglect. She and other CASA volunteers at SCAN advocate for one child at a time, helping ensure that child finds a safe, permanent home and the services they need for positive well-being.
Over those 12 years, Sabrina has dedicated more than a thousand hours to speaking up for abused and neglected children in the juvenile court system. She has served under three Alexandria Juvenile and Domestic Relations Judges, and all three vouch for her attention to detail and her tireless dedication and commitment. She arms them with valuable information as they make difficult, life altering decisions about the most vulnerable children in our community.
Sabrina has accompanied and advocated for children who have faced some of the worst experiences of childhood – families embroiled in domestic violence, substance abuse, mental illness, and incarcerated parents.
Sabrina navigates the legal and child welfare system while engaging with everyone involved in her CASA child’s case, including social workers, Guardian Ad Litem attorneys, parents, foster parents and especially the children. She sensitively and effectively expresses her concerns and communicates serious issues regarding the child and their family situations, but always with the utmost respect for all parties involved. She attends every team treatment meeting, school meeting, drug court meeting and court hearing for the child or children for whom she advocates. She also opens doors to helpful community services for the families and their children. Sabrina reports, “So often, it doesn’t take a lot – it just takes someone to stand in the gap so these kids don’t fall through the cracks.”
Sabrina is sensitive to the importance of the decisions made for each child she serves and she recognizes the power of her advocacy role. She has described her role as a CASA volunteer as “… perhaps the most rewarding and terrifying thing that I have ever done. It’s rewarding to know that my efforts make a real difference in the life of a child and terrifying to think that perhaps my efforts may not be enough!”
In 2006, Sabrina was the recipient of SCAN’s first Cleary Award, created to honor the organization’s founder, Dave Cleary, and recognize those whose dedication and commitment to children and families stand out in ways that make a positive difference in the lives of children. Sabrina was recognized for the unique way she brings her CASA children to life through her written reports to the Judges. When presenting her with the Cleary Award in 2006, SCAN’s executive director, Diane Charles, noted that on one case, Sabrina wrote an 18-page court report in such detail and with such clarity, that when the case got to court, no one had anything to say because it was all written in Sabrina’s report! This is indeed a feat seldom accomplished in a room filled with attorneys. Through commitment and concern, she seeks to ensure that each child has a safe and nurturing environment in which to grow and thrive.
Sabrina's empathy for the children she serves, her attention to detail and her tireless dedication have enabled her to excel in effectively and passionately advocating for the most vulnerable children in our community. Serving as a CASA volunteer is an intense, often emotionally draining, and sometimes frustrating volunteer position. Sabrina has always kept the mission of SCAN's CASA Program at the forefront of all that she does as a CASA volunteer. Her skill at advocating and providing a voice for children has made a positive difference in children's lives - more than she will ever know. SCAN’s Alexandria/Arlington CASA Program is grateful, and our community is fortunate, to have Sabrina Black speaking up for our most vulnerable children!