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For those unfamiliar, CASA of Madison and Clark Counties is short for ‘Court-Appointed Special Advocates.”

The organization has been a shining light for many children in an environment that has not always been friendly.

However, it continues to hope to do more.

“What we’re striving to do is just make sure that the kids that are in this system and in foster care have a consistent person who shows up for them and can make recommendations to the court about what they need and what they want,” said Victoria Benge, executive director for CASA of Madison and Clark Counties. “So often, they get moved around from place to place, and they just have nobody. We just strive to be that [consistent] person.”

Volunteers for CASA are involved with kids in several ways, dedicating five to ten hours monthly on average.

In addition to dealing with the courts, their involvement can extend to leisure and other activities.

For example, some work with students to create arts and crafts, including bracelets and paintings – even decorating materials such as rocks.

Many other games are played as well.

The benefit to children of being served by volunteers has revealed itself positively.

“On average, children that we serve have achieved permanency six months sooner than children without a CASA,” Benge added. “They do better than school on average because the volunteer is just checking up on their school, and talking to teachers and checking grades.”

Permanency, which is considered reunification with a child’s biological family, permanent custody to a relative, or adoption, is an ultimate goal for the organization.

Yet while improvements have been made, there continues to be room for growth.

Although Kentucky is no longer considered first in the nation in child abuse and neglect, it remains in the bottom five among all fifty states.

While sixty-three Clark County children are being served, it’s been reported that 163 children of Clark County have been abused and neglected.

“In [an] ideal world, we would love to serve every single child, but we can only do that if we have community support and people willing to step up and be a voice and an advocate for these kids,” Benge said.

Perhaps most alarming, the number of fatalities and near-fatalities due to abuse and neglect has increased by 40% in Kentucky over the last two years.

“Those are concerning numbers,” said Benge. “We strive to make sure that every child, no matter their race, their ethnicity, [or] their socioeconomic status…[have] the same level of advocacy that any child has.”

In doing so, they have seen a world of difference.

“The big [statistic] that always gets me, which is why I do what I do, is 90% percent of the children that we serve never re-enter the system,” Benge noted. “It’s really breaking the cycle.”

The process comes with a benefit to volunteers as well.

“We hear stories every day…when [kids] move to a new home, they’ll run out the front door to greet their volunteer because they’re so happy to see them,” Benge said. “We had a kid tell me a week ago that his CASA volunteer is like his family because she gives the most to him in this world.”

CASA of Madison and Clark Counties can be contacted through their website at www.madisoncasa.org.