The Kingfisher County Courthouse lawn is now decorated with more than two dozen wooden children.

Each child on the lawn represents a documented case of child abuse in Kingfi sher County last year.

April is Child Abuse Prevention Month and each year, The CARE Campus in Enid’s Fourth Judicial District CASA Program uses the cutouts to not only bring awareness to child abuse and neglect, but to help raise money in its fight against it.

The CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocate) Program is a non-profit that accepts and trains volunteers to serve as court-appointed advocates for abused and neglected children in juvenile court.

The fourth judicial district serves Kingfisher, Blaine, Garfield, Grant, Major and Woodward counties.

Once appointed, a CASA volunteer works with a variety of people from the child to the family to possibly a foster family and all involved professionals.

Volunteers visit children in the system each month, meeting with parents, foster parents, caseworkers, teachers, counselors, doctors, psychologists and other key individuals to make informed decisions in the child’s best interest.

The end goal is to find a safe permanent home for the child or children.

There are currently six CASA volunteers in the county, but more are needed.

And so is funding.

The CASA Program is funded by grants, donations and fundraising effort.

The wooden child display is one of its efforts to raise funds.

People can “foster” (sponsor) a wooden child for $35.

Business sponsorships are also available for $200 each.

Several businesses and individuals have already stepped up to sponsor and those signs are on the lawn and name tags are on the children.

However, there are still some children on the lawn without a sponsor name tag...and even without clothes.

It’s symbolic, said Dustin Albright, the executive director for The CARE Campus.

“They represent the children who don’t have some of those necessities in life because of abuse and neglect,” he said.

The cost to “foster” a child is $35. The business sponsorships are available for $200 and all sponsorships will be accepted through the end of the month.

Although the fourth judicial district covers several counties, any money raised in Kingfisher County will be used here, Albright said.

“The money that is raised is earmarked for your county so that we can travel back and forth to serve your community,” Albright said.

For more information, call 580-242-1153 or visit www.fourthjdcasa.org or www.thecarecampus.com.

“Together, we can make a difference in the lives of children who need it most,” Albright said.