With child abuse cases rising, CASA strives to recruit volunteers

LEXINGTON, Ky. (ABC 36 NEWS NOW) — Earlier this year, The Child Maltreatment Report shines a light on child abuse numbers throughout the country.
According to Kentucky Youth Advocates, Kentucky now ranks 14th in victims of child abuse.
The report is put together by the Children’s Bureau of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

According to the latest Child Maltreatment Report, Kentucky is around 60% higher than the national rate of child abuse at about 12.3 per 1,000 children.

It’s a trend Melynda Jamison with CASA (Court-Appointed Special Advocates) says they’re looking to curb.

“CASA stands for Court Appointed Special Advocates and we use trained and supervised volunteers known as ‘casas’ to advocate for abused and neglected children in the court system,” added Jamison.

The non-profit brings in volunteers that through training learn to become the voices of children who have been abused or neglected.

“All volunteers go through a 30 hour initial training that touches on everything from physical abuse, sexual abuse, substance abuse, diversity, equity inclusion, natural phases that a child goes through. But we absolutely know 30 hours is not enough time to be able to be an expert on all the matters. So every volunteer is supervised by a staff person called a volunteer manager and each volunteer manager at full capacity has up to 30 CASA volunteers,” said Jamison.

CASA says the relationship volunteers build with the children help them face challenges they may encounter.

“The cases that we’ve been appointed here at CASA of Lexington. The abuse has become more horrific over the last 3 to 5 years and we’re seeing more cases we’re appointed, where there has been a child fatality, maybe of a sibling and then we’re appointed to the the remaining siblings and of course, that’s always been an issue, but we’re seeing it more prevalent,” said Jamison.

Some of the highest factors for child abuse included inadequate housing, domestic violence and alcohol abuse.
With most of the victims being under one-year-old.
Those at CASA say it is essential for them to continue recruiting volunteers.

“So if there’s anybody listening, that’s at least 21 years of age and has a heart for children, you don’t need any degrees or special education. You just need to have a heart for kids and be willing to go through the background checks and the training that we offer right here in house,” said Jamison.

If you suspect a child is being abused or neglected, call the Child Protection Hotline at 1-877-kysafe1.

For more information on volunteering with CASA, click here.