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 has grown 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 Wilderness Trail was started by the Honorable Judge Jeff Walson in 1998. Judge Walson was the Madison and Clark Counties Family Court Judge at the time and really felt that CASA volunteers could help give insight into the best interests of the child.
We continue to advocate on behalf of abused and neglected children in Madison, Clark, Estill, Lee, and Owsley Counties, and our program is growing steadily. In January 2018, we had 5 volunteers serving 8 children; in January 2025, we had 96 volunteers serving 200 children. Join our efforts to advocate for all abused and neglected children in Madison, Clark, Estill, Lee, and Owsley Counties.
