23 New CASA Volunteers Begin Advocating for Abused Children
New CASA volunteers are sworn in Oct. 7 after completing a 30-hour training class.
Central Kentucky gained 23 advocates for abused and neglected children this month.
Fayette County Family Court Judge Lucinda Masterton swore in the newest class of Court-Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) volunteers on Oct. 7. The volunteers will be matched with abused and neglected children in five central Kentucky counties: Fayette, Bourbon, Woodford, Scott and Jessamine.
CASA volunteers advocate for the best interests of children in the family court system, providing details the judge otherwise might not have and identifying children’s needs that have been overlooked. Research has shown CASA volunteers help children receive more services, do better in school and return to safe, permanent homes faster.
Family Court Judge Lucinda Masterton speaks to new CASA volunteers during a swearing in ceremony on Oct. 7, 2021.
“I often will read the CASA report first when I’m preparing for my docket,” Judge Masterton told those gathered for the swearing in ceremony. “It really frames my approach to the rest of it. It gives me a completely different perspective on the way I think about the case.”
Many of the children CASA volunteers are matched with have suffered severe neglect or physical abuse. They may be living in foster care or with relatives while their case moves through the courts. Some have been moved among multiple placements in a matter of months.
Masterton noted social workers and attorneys in family court “are way overwhelmed and have huge caseloads,” which prevent them from developing the personal relationship with an abused child like a CASA volunteer can.
“The only person who can kind of drill through all the noise is the CASA volunteer,” she said. “We don’t always agree on everything, but getting that vantage point is very important to me.”
New CASA volunteers are sworn in by Family Court Judge Lucinda Masterton, bottom right, on Oct. 7, 2021.
The 23 new CASA volunteers completed a 30-hour training before being sworn in. They will each be assigned to a Volunteer Manager, a full-time staff member with CASA of Lexington who supports them every step of the way.
CASA volunteers spend five to 10 hours a month volunteering and commit to serve for at least two years, in order to provide consistency for the children they work with.
Four of the new advocates have signed up to volunteer in Jessamine County, where CASA of Lexington just launched a CASA program this year. Jessamine County was previously the largest county in Kentucky without a CASA program; it now has 10 CASA volunteers ready to advocate for abused and neglected children.
Three of the new volunteers will be assigned to cases in Scott County, which first added a CASA program in 2020, bringing that county’s number of volunteers to 23.
Woodford and Bourbon counties each gained one new volunteer from this class; the rest of the new volunteers will serve children in Fayette County.
“These 23 new volunteers could make a life-changing difference for as many as 60 children over the next year,” CASA of Lexington Executive Director Melynda Jamison said. “There are many more children right here in our communities who could use a CASA volunteer, but unfortunately we do not have enough volunteers to serve all of them.”
CASA of Lexington’s next training for new volunteers begins Jan. 11; a full schedule is available at www.casaoflexington.org/training.