CASA of Lexington Adds 15 New CASA Volunteers in Heart-Warming Ceremony
New CASA of Lexington volunteers are sworn in by Fayette County family court Judge Lucinda Masterton, fourth from left at the CASA of Lexington office May 24.
Fifteen central Kentucky residents were sworn in as the area’s newest CASA volunteers May 24.
The Court-Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) volunteers can now begin to advocate for abused and neglected children in the local family court systems served by CASA of Lexington.
Those sworn in are Kaylee Babb, Jennie Berk, Rader Bolling, Sherill Durham-Sanders, Robert Fisher, Yelena Litvin, Melissa Martin, Lee Meyer, Devonte Patterson, Kimberly Reeder, Grace Ross, Emma Sandrock, Jessica Schroeder, Dana Smith and Emma Stone.
“Without you as volunteers, we could not exist,” said CASA of Lexington board member Maynard Crossland during the swearing in ceremony. “You are about to embark on a journey of hard work and wonder.”
Fayette County family court Judge Lucinda Masterton swore in the new class of volunteers, telling them they are needed by the court system to help children.
There are many abused and neglected children in the system right now who have suffered trauma, and who feel like they are being forgotten about, Masterton said.
“These kids need someone like you so badly,” she said. “They believe nobody cares about them. They believe nobody is paying attention to them. It is so vital that they have somebody who will be there for them.”
Masterton shared the story of one young boy who had extremely bad behavior, to the point that “it looked like everybody was going to give up on him.” But his CASA volunteer recognized that the child had significant hearing problems — in fact, he was deaf, she said.
The child was given implants to help him hear and he began learning American Sign Language.
“He is kind of a normal kid now. Now he’s got a real life,” Masterton said. “And the only reason he has a real life is because of that CASA. She saved that child’s life.”
The new volunteers all completed a 30-hour training class prior to their swearing in. The class taught them about the effects of trauma on children, how the local courts and criminal justice system works, how to advocate for the needs of LGBTQ+ children, racial disproportionality in the foster care system, how to write court reports and more.
Now, the volunteers will be matched with cases of abused and neglected children and begin spending 5-10 hours a month, on average, working their cases. They will visit with the children monthly, talk to adults involved in the children’s lives, and prepare reports for the judge that include recommendations on what actions would be in the child’s best interests.
After the class was sworn in by Judge Masterton, each was presented with their CASA volunteer badge and family and friends who attended the ceremony gave them a warm round of applause.
UPCOMING VOLUNTEER TRAININGS
CASA of Lexington is offering a summer training for new volunteers that runs for a single week, June 27-July 1. Classes are 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday-Thursday and 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Friday. CASA of Lexington’s fall training will be Sept. 7 to Oct. 19, with classes on Wednesdays from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. and a pair of Saturdays 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. To see full training schedules and learn more, visit www.casaoflexington.org/training.
