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CASA asks county for training funding to support volunteer advocates
Summary
Representatives from CASA urged county leaders to fund expanded training — including youth mental health first aid and national conference attendance — to support mostly volunteer court-appointed advocates who work with children in abuse and neglect proceedings.
Representatives of CASA told the county they seek funding to expand staff and volunteer education so the small staff can better support volunteer court-appointed special advocates (CASAs). "Our caseload is almost entirely, managed by volunteers by volunteer CASAs," the presenter said, and added that volunteers "need a great deal of support from the staff." The organization proposed a combination of live, streamed and online trainings plus support for staff attendance at a national conference to learn best practices.
The presenter described a September 17 youth mental health first aid training at Ivy Tech that CASA will promote and make available to volunteers and board members, saying the training is intended to help volunteers handle crisis situations and secondary trauma. "If they don't have that training, then we don't have successful CASA," the speaker said, adding that the volunteer role is a "very heavy lift."
Speakers explained CASA’s funding mix: the VOCA (Victims of Crime Act) grant covers about 80% of the budget for salaries, while fundraising and a Boca (local grant) provide the remainder, and court system grants may be intermittent. They asked the county to consider support for a blended training platform and for funds to help pay staff and training expenses; staff and commissioners asked clarifying questions about specific line items and existing income sources. No vote or formal action was taken during the presentation; staff will include the request in budget discussions.
