CASA of Lexington Names Final Two Volunteers of the Month for 2021
CASA of Lexington has named Barbara Phipps and Jane Bennington as its Volunteers of the Month for December. The two Fayette County volunteers have advocated for seven abused or neglected children.
Jane Bennington
“I have always known that there are a lot of kids who are one adult away from a positive future. CASA volunteers are often that one adult,” said Bennington, who has been a CASA volunteer since May 2019. “Serving as a CASA volunteer can be hard work, but aren’t most worthwhile things? It will tug at your heart and it is so worth it!”
Bennington’s history of involvement with CASA programs stretches back more than two decades, including time as a board member for CASA of Lexington.
CASA Volunteer Manager Kyrsten Adkins said Bennington’s current CASA case is one of the more challenging cases she supervises.
“In the two and a half years she has been on the case, she has been the only constant for the children,” Adkins said. “They’ve had at least five social workers and each child has been in a placement that disrupted due to abuse or neglect by the caregiver. They’ve been in numerous schools where they’ve fallen through the cracks, but Jane has been there time and time again.”
Phipps has been a CASA volunteer since June 2020 and said she discovered the nonprofit organization while looking for a way to get more involved in the community.
Barbara Phipps
“It has been a blessing to me to be a part of a group of people that care so deeply for children here in Kentucky,” she said. “There are far too many children in our community who need someone to advocate for them. It’s not always easy, but it is always worth it.”
Adkins said Phipps has been professional and objective as she advocates for a sibling set of girls.
“She has built tremendous rapport with the bio parents, relatives, foster parents, social workers and community partners,” Adkins said. “Barbara is a delight to work with and is a great advocate.”
Court-Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) volunteers are trained by CASA of Lexington and sworn in by a family court judge. They are matched to abused and neglected children in the system, visiting with them regularly and providing reports to the judge that get results. Children with a CASA volunteer do better in school, get more of the services they need to thrive, and are far less likely to re-enter the foster system after they find permanency.
Phipps and Bennington encouraged more people to become CASA volunteers because there are not currently enough to serve all of the abused and neglected children in the family court system.
“If you’re worried you aren’t knowledgeable enough about the court system, don’t let that discourage you. CASA provides all the training you and you are surrounded by people who give you all the support you need to be successful,” Phipps said. “There’s a real joy in knowing you helped make it possible for a child to sleep more peacefully tonight, and even look forward to tomorrow.”