In 1977, David Soukup, a Seattle juvenile court judge, was concerned about making drastic decisions with insufficient information. Judge Soukup conceived the idea of citizen volunteers speaking up for the best interests of abused and neglected children in the courtroom. From that first program, it has grown to a network of nearly 1,000 CASA and Guardian ad Litem programs that are recruiting, training and supporting volunteers in 49 states and the District of Columbia.

CASA of the Appalachian Mountains (CAM) was established in the Summer of 2020. With the assistance of the Kentucky CASA Network (KCN) we were able to establish an advisory committee who had a passion for helping children affected by abuse, neglect, and dependency in the heart of Appalachia. The committee was dedicated to developing a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) program that would serve Perry, Knott, Leslie, and Letcher Counties. By April of 2021, Perry County District Judge Cody Goehring, appointed the first Board of Directors for CASA of the Appalachian Mountains.

Since the Summer of 2020, CAM has welcomed it first Executive Director and Volunteer Coordinators. The program has also expanded to three more counties in the heart of Appalachia, Pike, Floyd, and Magoffin. CAM continues to serve as an independent voice throughout the juvenile court proceedings until a safe and permanent home is found for each child.

Join our Efforts to advocate for all abused and neglected children in Perry, Knott, Leslie, Letcher, Floyd, Pike and Magoffin.