Woodford CASA volunteers honored with Serve Kentucky Awards
Two CASA volunteers were honored at the Woodford County Fiscal Court meeting Tuesday for giving hundreds of hours to help abused and neglected children.
Sally Schneider and Erin Hall were both recognized for volunteering more than 100 hours each during 2025 as CASA volunteers. Both have earned Serve Kentucky awards signed by Gov. Andy Beshear.
Hall could not attend the meeting but Schneider was on-hand to accept her award and take a photo with Woodford Judge-Executive James Kay and CASA Executive Director Melynda Jamison.
Jamison said Schneider is one of the program’s longest-serving CASA volunteers, who began serving in Fayette County before there was a Woodford County CASA program.
The Serve Kentucky Volunteer Recognition Program is a partnership among the Office of the Governor, AmeriCorps, and the Cabinet for Health and Family Services. It recognizes volunteers who make a difference by giving their time within the state of Kentucky.
CASA volunteers are matched with children in the family court system who have been abused or neglected. Each volunteer visits their CASA child at least monthly, gathers information about the child’s life, provides reports to the judge on the child’s case, and speaks up if the child needs something they aren’t getting.
Last year, 22 CASA volunteers in Woodford County advocated for 51 abused and neglected Woodford County children. Jamison said that means just under half of the children in Woodford with open abuse and neglect cases have a CASA volunteer.
Across CASA of Lexington’s seven-county region, fewer than 20 percent of children get a CASA volunteer, and statewide, the percentage is around 8 percent, Jamison said.
"So if we want to track how we're doing, Woodford County is just running at a high level,” she said. “But we're not going to stop until we're at 100 percent because we believe every child deserves a safe and permanent home."
Children who receive CASA volunteers can do better in school, receive more services ordered by the judge, and be far less likely to be abused or neglected again.
Judge Kay said it was refreshing to hear about good work being in Woodford County for children.
“Our children are our most precious asset and we entrust them to some really great people,” he said.
It takes about 5 to 10 hours a month to serve as a CASA volunteer. If you are interested in becoming a CASA volunteer, supporting the Woodford County CASA program or learning more about what CASA volunteers do, visit www.casaoflexington.org.