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Child advocacy center asks commission to include counseling and support in 2026 budget
Summary
Playhouse, a child advocacy center, asked the commission to consider continued support in next year’s budget and outlined expanded services including mental-health counseling, parent support groups and services for trafficking victims.
Playhouse (a child advocacy center) requested that the Jefferson County Commission consider continued support in the 2026 budget to expand services including mental-health counseling, parent support groups, use of emotional-support animals with the sheriff’s department and additional care for victims of human trafficking. The center’s executive director, Maya T. Kim, presented service statistics and a request for commission support. Kim said Playhouse has served 55 children so far this year and anticipates serving 125 by year’s end. She described the center’s forensic interviews and other services for children who have experienced abuse, neglect or witnessed crimes; Kim said the center’s staff includes two full-time employees and two interns and that funding comes from a mix of state and federal sources, municipal assistance, fundraisers and donations, and that recent federal funding has been cut by about 20 percent. Commissioners thanked the presenter and one commissioner described the need for parent support groups to help families through trauma. The presentation concluded with a request that the commission consider Playhouse in the county’s 2026 budget; no formal appropriation or vote occurred during the meeting.
