Voices for Children this month named Sun City resident and Torrance Police Sergeant Ron Salary the 2025 Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) of the Year for his dedicated service.
“We train and support community volunteers who serve as advocates for children in foster care,” Voices for Children’s President & CEO Jessica Muñoz said in an interview with The Riverside Record. “And so each year we select one volunteer who certainly goes above and beyond in their volunteer role, but also really exemplifies what it is that CASAs can do and be in a child’s life to benefit them.”
Salary first became a CASA in April 2023. A few months later, he began working with a 15-year-old boy who was without a stable home or guardian following the death of his adoptive father.
“I feel like my foster youth did all the work, and I’m getting awarded for it, which is great, I’m glad,” Salary said in an interview with The Record. “But really, he did everything, and I just kind of helped him along and made sure he reached the goals that he set for himself, but I’m very happy to be recognized.”
As soon as he started working with the teen, Salary immediately began to build rapport with him, visiting him at least twice a month. Salary not only recognized the teen’s potential, helping him to identify his skills and develop lifelong skills, but also worked to help him experience joy in the midst of so much pain.
As part of his work with the teen, Salary has helped him navigate the myriad systems set up to support youth in foster care, such as funding for his activities, a math tutor, a new bike and even driving lessons.
“Even though the funding is there for him, and we can arrange for the lessons and the tests as long as he does his part, the process to receive that money is not timely, so it kind of disrupts whether or not he’s going to have money for his next written test appointment or for his lesson,” Salary said of the obstacles to help the teen get his driver’s license. “He passed his driver’s test on the first try, and so that was fantastic, but there is the stress of dealing with the system.”
Salary also shows up for the youth in ways that others can’t, including being at his Individualized Education Program (IEP) meetings at school, bringing him to experiences that he otherwise wouldn’t have access to, like seeing a stage production of “Hamilton,” and attending award ceremonies and school productions.
Stay up to date with the latest from The Record. Subscribe to our weekly newsletter today!
“I was there on his opening night [of “Mean Girls,”] and I am cheering him on and taking pictures and video, and then afterwards, I share the pictures and video with him, and he was really happy to see it, but he was really looking at the pictures and videos very intensely,” Salary said. “And he kind of points out to me that he’s never seen that perspective. He’s never participated in something and had someone photograph him and share it with him.”
The teen is set to graduate from high school this year and has already been accepted to several four-year universities to continue his education.
“The most rewarding part is being able to get to know him better and to also help him reach the goals that he sets for himself,” Salary said.
It was because of the ways Salary goes above and beyond for his case youth that Muñoz said he was selected for the award and honored at a December 9 ceremony.
“Ron absolutely demonstrates what we mean when we talk about consistency,” Muñoz said. “And he really went above and beyond to get to know his young person as an individual, and then to advocate for him based on his individualized interest.”
According to Voices for Children, which trains and supports CASA volunteers, there are currently 130 children in the Riverside County foster care system on the organization’s waitlist.
“Those are children who have been specifically identified either by a judge or a professional in their life as a young person who would really benefit from having this type of holistic advocacy,” Muñoz said, noting that they are specifically in need of male CASAs and volunteers from diverse communities, especially those who can speak Spanish.
The volunteers, who on average spend about 10 hours per month on this work, advocate for the child in court, school, medical settings and more to ensure the needs of foster youth are being met.
“Anyone can do it, and all you have to do is just give your time,” Salary said. “And not even a lot of time, just being there consistently for the foster youth, makes a huge difference.”
Voices for Children recently celebrated 10 years of operation in Riverside County. In that time, the organization has served nearly 2,000 local children in foster care.
More information about how to become a CASA volunteer and other ways to support the work of the organization can be found here on the Voices for Children website.
The Riverside Record is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news outlet providing Riverside County with high-quality journalism free of charge. We’re able to do this because of the generous donations of supporters like you!