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Mayor proclaims 'CASA Day' and council honors court‑appointed special advocates
Summary
Mayor Linda Gorton declared April 16, 2026, 'CASA Day' and joined CASA Executive Director Melinda Jamieson in recognizing local volunteers; Jamieson highlighted 2025 service figures and urged more volunteers to support children in Fayette County's family court system.
Mayor Linda Gorton proclaimed April 16, 2026, “CASA Day” in Lexington and invited Melinda Jamieson, executive director of CASA of Lexington, to the podium to recognize volunteers who advocate for children in the family court system.
Jamieson thanked the council and the mayor for budget support and presented Serve Kentucky awards to volunteers. She said CASA volunteers served 434 Fayette County children in 2025 and logged roughly 6,042 volunteer hours in the county; she also said about 950 new substantiated child abuse and neglect cases entered the local court system last year. “We do need more volunteers,” Jamieson said, urging residents with time to consider training; she noted volunteers do not need formal education to serve and highlighted top volunteers who logged more than 300 hours in 2025.
Gorton read a proclamation marking CASA’s 40th year serving Kentucky and thanked volunteers and family‑court judges for their partnership. Jamieson credited partnerships with AmeriCorps, the governor’s Serve Kentucky initiative and the state Cabinet for Health and Family Services for the Serve Kentucky awards.
The mayor and CASA leaders paused for photographs with honorees. Jamieson told the council she was “confident” that with the mayor’s budget support and an upcoming second reading she could expand service to more children next year.
