Court Appointed Special Advocates of South Central Kentucky swore in its first new advocates serving Allen and Simpson counties on Wednesday.

At the beginning of 2023, CASA expanded into Allen, Simpson and Edmonson counties and also serves Barren, Hart, Metcalfe and Warren counties.

CASA Executive Director Melinda Hill said the expansion into the three new counties aligns with the Kentucky CASA network’s goal, which is to ensure that all children in the commonwealth have a CASA advocate.

Advocates are trained volunteers who work with children throughout the region’s court system, communicating with all parties involved with the case, including the social worker, counselors, schools and guardians ad litem, she said.

“They find out what is going on in that child’s life, serving as the child’s spokesperson,” Hill said. “The goal is to focus on the child.”

Eight new advocates, with six of those serving Allen and Simpson counties, completed CASA’s required 30 hours of training.

“This was our first hybrid training, with 15 hours online and 15 hours in-person,” she said.

Hill said the organization is already starting to receive cases from the newly added counties, so “we are very excited to have our new advocates.”

“The advocates are often the one constant in that child’s life,” Hill said. “These children are moved around from foster family to foster family and may get a new GAL (guardian ad litem) or a new social worker, but our advocates remain the same.”

The ceremony, administered by Judge Ashley Douglas, took place at the Simpson County Justice Center.

The next training session will be in June and Hill said that CASA is always looking for more volunteers.

Community members interested in becoming an advocate or wanting more information can reach out to Steve Jones, advocate development specialist, at steve@casaofsck.org or (270) 782-5353.