Johnson County Council OKs $43,950 for Health Department renovations to host local Child Advocacy Center

The Johnson County Council approved $43,950 in county funds on Jan. 13 to renovate space in the county's former health department for a Child Advocacy Center (CAC) to be operated by the nonprofit ASSIST.

The appropriation, drawn from COVID-era building repair funds, will remodel suites the health department currently rents so ASSIST can provide forensic interviews and sexual-assault nursing exams locally rather than sending victims to Indianapolis or Avon. "It would keep them local. It would be better for, our police, and responders to be able to do it locally here," Health Department director Betsy Swearingen said during the meeting.

The council's majority supported the measure as a way to both provide locally based, trauma-informed services and reduce the county's ongoing rent expense for the old health building. "I've worked with this group, with the prosecutor's office, with Betsy, with ASSIST," Commissioner Kevin Walz said. "I feel it's worthwhile. I don't feel it's right for Johnson County residents to have to go to the north side of Indianapolis." Walz also framed the appropriation as small relative to the public benefit.

Several council members pushed back, citing limited county oversight of ASSIST and a prior, unpaid transfer of prosecutor funds to the nonprofit. "I have a hard time accepting spending taxpayer money with a nonprofit organization that we don't have any oversight on," Councilor Melinda Greasen said. Officials said ASSIST is a nonprofit funded primarily by state grants and that certification and grant-monitoring requirements would apply to the CAC once it operated.

Swearingen and other staff said the plan would reduce the county's rent exposure (the county is currently paying roughly $56,100 a month on the building) because ASSIST would sublet and ultimately take over the lease when the county's lease expires in May 2026. "They would take over the $56,100 a month," Swearingen said when asked how the rent would be handled.

A motion to approve the renovation funding was made and seconded during the meeting; the council carried the measure by a majority vote. The motion was moved by councilor John Myers and seconded by councilor Barb Bates. The county indicated Commissioner Kevin Walz will oversee the renovation and the county's administrators will finalize any sublease or MOU required for ASSIST to operate the CAC.

The county attorney and health department said the $43,950 is limited to a specific renovation scope; it is not an ongoing operating subsidy to ASSIST. Swearingen said state grants and CAC-specific grants would be the long-term funding streams for the nonprofit's operations.

Council members asked for continuing documentation: written MOU/sublease terms, project oversight by the commissioners' office, and confirmation of the grant-monitoring arrangements. Swearingen said those steps are in process and that the funding request is the first piece required before the parties can finalize the lease and certification timeline.

The council's approval allows the county to proceed with the renovation planning and contracting; staff said ASSIST and the health department will return with final agreements and implementation details as the project moves forward.

Ending: The CAC project is intended to allow forensic interviews and exams to occur in Johnson County rather than transporting families to other counties. Council members said they expect follow-up reports and written agreements to address oversight and long-term funding before ASSIST assumes the lease entirely.