The Starke County Commissioners considered a funding request from Starke County CASA program officials Monday night.
CASA Director Rhonda Adcock said the program provides a voice to children in need.
“We provide volunteer…I guess you could say advocates, but they’re way more than that to the children in Starke County who have a case and they’ve been abused or neglected in some manner,” stated Adcock.
She explained that the CASA program gets its funding from a matching grant from the state and from the county. She added that she applies for local grants to help with funds as much as she can.
In 2020, she stated that the county appropriation toward the state’s matching grant of nearly $17,300 is a little short. The county’s appropriation is about $13,280 and Adcock asked if that amount could be increased by $4,000 so the program will not miss any funding for 2020.
“We serve a lot of kids. It amazes me, these volunteers. For no money – they don’t know anybody so there’s no conflict of interest. They give countless hours just helping kids, seeing the kids and going to court.”
The commissioners approved the request with a unanimous vote. Commissioner Kathy Norem spoke highly of the program and how important the volunteers are that serve area children in need.
There are about 44 volunteers in Starke County’s CASA program. There are about 9 children who aren’t assigned to a CASA volunteer at this time. If you would like to volunteer, call 574-772-7200.
