C.A.T.C.H. Court Holds 3rd Graduation

First Lady Karen Kasich hosted a graduation ceremony Friday in the garden at the governor’s residence. The graduates were women who’d been charged with solicitation or prostitution. Instead of jail time, they chose to enroll in a program called C.A.T.C.H. Franklin County Judge Paul Herbert started C.A.T.C.H Court in 2009. Since then there have been dozens of graduates from the two-year program. Herbert describes the women as “awesome.â€? “What these women have accomplished is miraculous, it’s amazing and I’m proud of each and every one of them,â€? Herbert says. Wendy Miller was the first to receive the CATCH diploma during the ceremony. “Judge Herbert, God gave you as a gift to see us girls as young women, not as prostitutes or drug addicts. I turned from a caterpillar into a beautiful butterfly and I will never, ever forget you,â€? Miller said. C.A.T.C.H stands for Changing Actions to Change Habits. The three-phase program offers intensive rehabilitation for substance abuse and post-traumatic stress disorder.