LES SCHMALTZ

Court Appointed Advocate since: 2003

How did you decide to become a Child Advocate volunteer? Learned about CA from volunteers while attending training classes at Volunteer Houston as part of my activities with Covenant House Texas. Sounded interesting and meeting a real need, so I called, and the rest is history!

Your most memorable experience as a court appointed advocate ... Seeing the faces and expressions of gratitude and joy by parents/caregivers when given the Christmas gifts for the children in their care that are provided by Child Advocates. Most cases involve situations where resources are limited, and these gifts make a very significant difference. It is a real joy for me to be the “messenger” for this happy occasion.

What is your life like outside of volunteering with Child Advocates? Wife (Lyn) and three grown children plus one grandson. My oldest daughter is an MD and career medical missionary in Guinea, West Africa. We have visited there and helped with her work. Also volunteer with Covenant House Texas as mentor in Rights of Passage program, a variety of activities at our church (Christ Memorial Lutheran), and mentoring at local elementary school. In addition to volunteering, hobbies include golf, skiing and travel.

What inspires you to continue volunteering? I see the real need and benefit of my/CA efforts in the court system to represent the interests of the children involved. Also, the quality and professionalism of CAI and my coordinator (Lucius Walton) make the work easier and very effective. Interaction with other volunteers at classes, etc. add to the fun of this effort.

The case you'll never forget ... The case involved 3 children who were taken into custody of CPS and placed with grandparents at the birth of the youngest when both mother and infant tested positive for drugs. After nearly a year of services, mother had met requirements for having children returned, and the case came to final court hearing which was heading to family reunification, even though grandparents were very interested in having permanent custody or adopting all 3 children. While all data indicated no problem, I had a “gut feeling” that something was not right with the mother based on my observations of her behavior, particularly when visiting the children. As we were waiting in the courtroom for the case to be called, I asked the CPS caseworker if she was confident that the mother was drug-free, as I had concerns (in spite of negative UA’s). She called a technician to the courtroom and a UA was conducted and found to be positive before the case was called. Result was that the court gave custody to the grandparents where the children continue to prosper. A close call, where my “gut feeling” and help from CPS caseworker resulted in a positive outcome for the children.