CASA volunteer keeps up her work for children after moving to central Kentucky

CASA volunteer April Jilbert

April Jilbert first became a Court-Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) volunteer in northern Kentucky more than a decade ago. After her family moved to Lexington, she signed back up to be a CASA volunteer with CASA of Lexington.

Since she began volunteering with CASA of Lexington more than four years ago, Jilbert has helped change the future for a dozen children. This month, she is one of CASA of Lexington’s Volunteers of the Month.

“April is a fantastic CASA!,” said Kyrsten Adkins, Jilbert’s Volunteer Manager. “April is always professional and works collaboratively with the social worker on the case. She writes a great court report, submits her hours on-time and it’s not unusual for us to have an hour phone call several times a month discussing her case.”

As a CASA volunteer, Jilbert is matched with the cases of abused and neglected children in the local family court system. She visits the children monthly, talks to adults involved in their lives and makes reports and recommendations to the judge.

Jilbert said she loves the process of developing relationships with the children on her cases.

“It can be a real challenge, but that just takes persistence, especially with the teenagers,” she said. “But it’s so worth it, especially when you see that breakthrough. That’s probably my favorite part.”

When children in family court receive a CASA volunteer like Jilbert, they are more likely to have the judge order services they need. They are also more likely to perform well in school and to find a safe, permanent home that doesn’t disrupt after their case closes.

Jilbert said a lot of people don’t know what a CASA volunteer is, so she likes to keep it simple when she’s telling someone for the first time.

“I tell them I advocate for children in court. If they start to ask questions, that’s when I will go more in-depth,” she said. “I definitely love it or I wouldn’t have been doing it this long.”