You can change the course of an abused or neglected child’s life — just by showing up, caring, listening and sharing your ideas and perspectives. To be a CASA volunteer, you don’t need any specific experience or background. You just need a heart for helping children and a willingness to commit to 5-10 hours of volunteer work a month for at least two years. Your first step is filling out an application.
If you would prefer to fill out an application by hand, you can download a PDF here. If you would like us to mail you a printed application, please call (859) 246-4313. Paper applications can be scanned and emailed to info@casaoflexington.org; or dropped off at or mailed to the CASA of Lexington office, 3245 Loch Ness Dr., Lexington, KY 40517.
Every CASA volunteer commits to serving on average 5-10 hours a month for at least two years, in order to ensure consistency for the children we serve.
The work includes visiting your assigned child monthly, talking to adults in the child’s life, reviewing records concerning the child’s education and medical needs, writing reports for the judge, and being present at court hearings (typically once every three months).
Child abuse and neglect is a big problem in Kentucky. CASA of Lexington currently serves fewer than 1 out of every 5 cases of child abuse, neglect and dependency that come through our local family court systems every year.
Children who receive a CASA volunteer do better in school, get more services, change placements less frequently and are far less likely to reenter foster care after their cases close.
In order to give every child the CASA advantage, we need more volunteers like you!
To serve as a CASA volunteer, you must be at least 21 years old, pass our background checks and complete our 30-hour new volunteer training class.
You are not required to have any particular level of education, certification or experience in a specific field. You do need to have a heart for helping children and a willingness to commit to the work.
If you go through volunteer training with CASA of Lexington, you are able to serve in Bourbon, Fayette, Garrard, Jessamine, Lincoln, Scott or Woodford counties.
While each CASA child’s case will have hearings in one of these counties, the child may be placed in a home or facility elsewhere in the state.
If you are interested in serving in another Kentucky county, please use the Kentucky CASA Network’s inquiry form to get connected with the CASA program in your area.
We will contact you within a few days to provide background check forms and schedule an initial interview. At your initial interview, we will add you to a seat in one of our upcoming training classes.
Once you complete training and observe family court, you will be sworn in by a family court judge and can be matched with an abused or neglected child in need of a CASA volunteer.
No. going through our initial training is how some people learn that CASA is a perfect fit for them; it’s how others learn that the volunteer role is not for them. You are welcome to apply and join an upcoming training class even if you’re not 100% sure serving as a CASA volunteer is right for you.
No. We take into account your preferences, experiences and strengths when finding a child we think would match well with you.
Before you accept any case, you have the opportunity to review the case details with a Volunteer Manager. You can say yes or no to accepting the case. Saying no is fine — we will look for another child to match you with.
If you’re interested in becoming a CASA volunteer in the future, you can sign up to receive notifications when we schedule new training classes. You can expect to receive 4-6 emails a year, which you can ignore until you are ready to start the process.
If you want to support CASA’s mission without serving as a CASA volunteer, you can become a Friend of CASA, a donor or a board member.
You can call (859) 246-4313 or email info@casaoflexington.org with any questions you have about becoming a CASA volunteer.
