By Abigail Roberts
The number of court-substantiated cases of children abused or neglected in Lincoln County rose from 95 in 2024 to 153 in 2025. Of that total, only six percent (16 children) are being served by a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA).
While six percent is better than zero, Melynda Jamison, Executive Director of Lincoln County’s CASA program, told Lincoln County Fiscal Court magistrates Tuesday that the community needs more volunteers.
“I’ll be real honest, we’re sending volunteers from Fayette County, from Garrard, to serve Lincoln because some of our most egregious cases, unfortunately, are in Lincoln,” she said. “We are blessed to have a couple of volunteers, our first Priscilla (Miller) that lives here in Lincoln serving and that’s what we want. As a regional program we’re not opposed to uses our resources to serve all seven counties but we want to be serving more than six percent so we’re going to keep working on that.”
There are an estimated 250 open cases of child abuse or neglect in Lincoln County at this time.
Jamison provided the following statistics on child abuse and neglect in Lincoln County in 2025:
- Children abused or neglected: 153 (up from 95 in 2024)
- Estimated children with open cases: 250
- CASA volunteers: 9
- Children served: 16
- Percent served: 6%
- Bourbon Volunteers Receiving a Serve Kentucky Award: 6
Kentucky’s child abuse rate is the fifth highest in the U.S., according to the latest national report, with the Commonwealth now nearly doubling the national child abuse rate.
April is Child Abuse Prevention Month. In Kentucky, the number to call to report suspected child abuse is (877) KY-SAFE1 (597-2331). The Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline, (800) 4-A-CHILD (422-4453), offers professional crisis counselors who can provide intervention, information and referrals to emergency, social service and support resources. Calls are confidential.
Lincoln County CASA volunteers receive awards
April is Child Abuse Prevention month, Jamison said, and the group came to recognize the top CASA volunteers in Lincoln County.
“Some of our CASA volunteers who serve here in Lincoln County were honored for their hours they logged in the calendar year in 2025 by the state of Kentucky,” Jamison said. “They are called Serve Kentucky awards and they’re provided through a partnership with Americorps, the Office of the Governor and the Cabinet for Health and Family Services.”
Recipients receive a certificate that acknowledges volunteers who gave of their time to serve the state and are signed by the Serve Kentucky Commissioner, the Secretary of the Cabinet for Health and Family Services and Governor Andy Beshear.
Volunteers can qualify for the award by logging at least 100 hours in a calendar year.
“I don’t know of a better way of how you can serve our community by giving a child a voice and a chance at a safe and permanent home,” Jamison said.
Jamison said all you have to have is a heart for children. It takes about 5 to 10 hours a month to be a CASA volunteer.
The good news, Jamison said, is six of the nine CASA volunteers in Lincoln County received Serve Kentucky awards for their efforts in 2025.
“Talking about the cream of the crop, they have blown out the other six counties,” she said. “The volunteers are giving quite a bit of their time.”
The Lincoln County Serve Kentucky volunteers who were recognized Tuesday include:
- Priscilla Miller
- Pat Bennett
- Susan Maupin
- Megan Huston
- Ava Crow
- Anne Flynn
Back row- Daryl Day, Woods Adams, Dan Gutenson, Joe Stanley, Bobby King, David Faulkner
About CASA of Lexington
CASA of Lexington’s trained and supervised volunteers advocate through the family court systems in Bourbon, Fayette, Garrard, Jessamine, Lincoln, Scott and Woodford counties to ensure all victims of child abuse and neglect are safe and thrive in a permanent home. Changes such as where the child lives or goes to school, changes in social workers, teachers and friends, as well as the uncertainty of what life holds, can be very overwhelming for these children. The CASA volunteer is there to help recognize what the child needs, work to minimize these detrimental changes, and advocate for positive changes for the child’s future. Learn more at casaoflexington.org, by calling (859) 246-4313 or by emailing info@casaoflexington.org.
