Seven Scott County CASA volunteers honored with Serve Kentucky Awards
Georgetown, Ky. (April 7, 2026) – Seven CASA volunteers were honored at a working session of the Scott County Fiscal Court Friday morning for giving hundreds of hours to help abused and neglected children.
The seven volunteers honored are Debbie Rurik-Goodwin, Pat Bennett, Cynthia Phillips, Bev Chandler, Glenda Dees, Carrie Gordy and Jennifer Dishman. Each volunteered for more than 100 hours in 2025, and they combined to volunteer for 1,330 hours.
“Our volunteers are really the rock stars of the program,” said Melynda Jamison, Executive Director of Scott County’s Court-Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) program.
Jamison noted two of the seven are also record-holders for CASA: Cynthia Phillips is the longest continuous-serving volunteer with the program, having volunteered in Fayette County before there was a Scott County program. And Jennifer Dishman is the longest-serving volunteer counting service in other states — she began serving as a CASA volunteer in central Kentucky in the late 1990s, then volunteered in another state, then came back to volunteer here again.
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.
The seven volunteers received Serve Kentucky Awards, which are issued through a partnership among AmeriCorps, the Office of the Governor, and the Cabinet for Health and Family Services (CHFS). The awards recognize volunteers who give their time in Kentucky and they are signed by the commissioner of Serve Kentucky, the secretary of CHFS and Gov. Andy Beshear.
Scott County Child Abuse Statistics
Jamison also updated the fiscal court on Scott County’s child abuse statistics. New cases of abuse and neglect declined in 2025, dropping to 252 from 307 in 2024. Jamison said that number is still too high.
“It’s now where we want to see it, but you always want to celebrate the small wins,” she said.
Jamison said CASA roughly estimates there are more than 550 children in Scott County with active family court cases. That’s because cases typically last a little more than two years.
A total of 28 CASA volunteers served 68 Scott County children in 2025, meaning about 12 percent of abused and neglected kids got a volunteer. Jamison said CASA wants to grow that percentage because outcomes for children with CASA volunteers are so much better. She also noted 12 percent is much better than where Scott County had been.
“We’ve come a long way from zero in just a few years,” she said.
Funding for CASA
Jamison said the CASA program is indebted to Scott County and Georgetown for providing funding for the local program.
“We actually have support from all seven counties we serve,” she said. “We are the only CASA program in the state that can say that.”
Judge-Executive Joe Pat Covington said he is glad Scott County has CASA volunteers to be mentors, supporters and “friendly faces” for abused and neglected children in the family court system.
“We support CASA every year. It’s a fantastic organization,” Covington said. “On behalf of fiscal court, I want to thank you all for what you do for our young people.”
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 Scott County CASA program or learning more about what CASA volunteers do, visit www.casaoflexington.org.