[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 68 (Thursday, May 26, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: May 26, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
 NATIONAL COURT APPOINTED SPECIAL ADVOCATE PROGRAM DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR

                                 ______


                         HON. ROMANO L. MAZZOLI

                              of kentucky

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 26, 1994

  Mr. MAZZOLI. Mr. Speaker, I am proud to extend my congratulations to 
Sally Wilson Erny, executive director of the Court Appointed Special 
Advocate [CASA] Project of Louisville and Jefferson County, KY, on 
being named Program Director of the Year by National CASA in ceremonies 
this month in Tampa, FL.
  CASA is a program which uses trained volunteers to represent the 
interests of abused and neglected children before the courts handling 
their cases. There are now a total of 556 CASA projects around the 
Nation.
  In 1983, Sally Wilson Erny was the first employee of CASA in 
Louisville and Jefferson County. Under her stewardship, CASA has grown 
from serving 72 children in 1985 to serving over 300 children in 1994. 
She has also been instrumental in assisting in the start up of all 
other CASA programs in the Commonwealth of Kentucky. She also succeeded 
in convincing the Kentucky General Assembly to pass legislation which 
gives statutory standing to CASA in the Commonwealth of Kentucky.
  CASA's early assignment program, established by Sally Wilson Erny, 
provides a child with representation by a CASA member at the earliest 
stages of the court process. This ensures that the child's rights are 
fully protected from the start of the court process.
  Sally Wilson Erny's contributions to CASA extend well beyond 
Louisville, Jefferson County and the whole of Kentucky. She lends her 
experience and creative efforts to numerous CASA programs across the 
Nation. She is frequently called upon to mediate delicate problems in 
the areas of Social Services, Family Courts, and foster parenting 
situations.
  She has been described by colleagues and associates as ``generous, 
indefatigable, caring and tireless.'' I endorse those descriptive 
traits because I have seen them on display in my dealings with Ms. Erny 
over the years.
  I congratulate Sally Wilson Erny on her award and I commend her for 
her selfless actions in bringing justice and fairness to the children 
of Kentucky and the Nation.

                          ____________________