Eight UK law students become CASA volunteers for abused, neglected children
Eight UK law students are sworn in as CASA of Lexington’s newest volunteers in April.
Eight law students have joined the growing number of UK students who are serving as CASA volunteers to help neglected children and gain valuable life experience while in college.
The students completed a training course in March. Fayette County Family Court Judge Ross Ewing swore them in as CASA volunteers in the grand courtroom at the Rosenberg College of Law Building on Tuesday.
“I truly believe CASA saves lives,” Ewing said. “I’ve seen it firsthand.”
CASA volunteers give 5-10 hours a month to help an abused or neglected child with an open family court case. They visit their matched child monthly, and they write reports for judges like Ewing.
“I have a whole lot of kids on my desk when I go to court. Most Mondays, I call at least 100 cases,” said Ewing, who also teaches law classes at UK. “I do my very best by all of them. But having someone who is just there for that one child and is going to stay laser-focused on that kid’s needs makes me much more confident in the decisions that I end up making.”
CASA volunteers do not provide legal representation or have any authority in court. Instead, they provide a regular person’s perspective on what a child needs, often helping the court think outside the box and find solutions that no one else has thought of.
CASA Volunteer Manager Dennis Stutsman led the students through their online training to become CASA volunteers. The training included seven learning sessions over Zoom and homework-style assignments they completed on their own time, for a total of 30 hours.
“I’m really proud of these folks and the work they’ve done over the last three months,” Stutsman said. “I’m excited to put every one of them on a case.”
Stutsman said the new volunteers will each be working with a child who has suffered abuse or neglect at the hands of their caregivers.
“The goal of every case is to reunify that family in a safer, stronger place at the end – if that’s possible,” Stutsman said. “If it’s not possible, it’s to help the court understand how to make the best decision about the safest permanent placement for those kids to grow up in.”
Ewing said CASA is a “terrific resource” that he loves to have available in his courtroom. And he offered the new volunteers some advice.
“Be bold. You’re going to have to learn to speak up in court, so just go ahead and speak up with me,” he said. “I want to hear what you have to say.”
The law students are gaining experience in court system by serving as CASA volunteers, but the volunteer role is not limited to law students and it does not require a specific educational background. Anyone who is at least 21 years old, passes background checks and can commit to giving 5-10 hours a month for two years can serve.
“By training folks who are going to be out in the community, we spread the word about how the court works for families, and how it doesn’t work as well for families and children who need protecting,” Stutsman said.
SO YOU KNOW
The eight UK law students sworn in as CASA volunteers are: Hadley Christensen, Tori Harris, Clare Hillen, Keyera Jackson, Eunice Litanda, Tina Ly, Daniel Mares and Makayla Nusbaum.
