A year to the day after becoming the program’s executive director, Regina Kelly of Christian County’s Court Appointed Special Advocates — better known as CASA — is iterating a desperate need for volunteers.
That was her message to Hopkinsville’s Rotarians on Tuesday afternoon, as a log-jam of abused and neglected local children need the help of well-trained volunteers to help with placement in permanent homes.
In fact, the basis of the CASA concept is that every child has the right to a safe space — which often, and unfortunately, takes many skilled hands to provide. And Jason Fleming, Family Court Judge in Christian County Circuit Court, has provided Kelly with some stark numbers around the current case load.
COVID-19 concerns were at the top of complications during the last 12 months, but Kelly notes there are other roadblocks for volunteers
Due to the delicacy of most situations and the intricacies around court documents and medical files, Kelly said the training to become a CASA volunteer is intensive — around 30-plus hours of virtual learning in order to become fit for the courtroom.
Kelly said Christian County is currently home to more than 2,000 foster children, and that any future CASA volunteers can specify target demographics for their advocacy — typically by gender and age. If one is more comfortable working with pre-school, elementary or middle school students, that works. If teenage guidance fits better, that works, too.
The reward — if there should be such a thing — comes the official ability to change the life of a child. Kelly attended a CASA conference in 2020, and walked away with even more appreciation for her organization following the testimonies of children who had been assisted by CASA delegates.
Recently formed in 2018, more information about CASA of Christian County can be found online at casaccky.org, or call Kelly at (270) 887-4024. Monetary donations can also help, and should be mailed to CASA Program of Christian County at P.O. Box 4003, Hopkinsville, Kentucky, 42241.
