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Vigo County CASA asks council for staff positions to protect services as VOCA grant shifts
Summary
Vigo County CASA director urged the council to approve either a full‑time advocate or two part‑time advocates to preserve caseload coverage after changes to a VOCA grant reduced available benefits and created unspendable salary dollars.
Glenna Schiesman, director of Vigo County CASA, asked the Vigo County Council to authorize new staff positions or part‑time positions to avoid losing casework capacity after a change in federal VOCA grant terms.
Schiesman said the VOCA (Victims of Crime Act) grant originally funded what would have been a full‑time CASA position whose benefits the county declined to pay. "We were left with the funds for salary for a full‑time position, but no benefits," Schiesman said. After rewriting the grant to create a part‑time slot at $23.48 an hour, administrative delays and limits on program modifications left roughly $11,700 of salary funds that CASA cannot currently spend except in limited line items such as mileage.
The request, presented as a salary ordinance and as an additional appropriation request, seeks either a single full‑time position, one part‑time position, or two part‑time positions. Schiesman said one part‑time position would "cover the person that we are going to lose," while two part‑time positions would be cheaper than a full‑time hire and would better protect the program if state grant funding is cut.
Why it matters: CASA carries a large and growing caseload for child advocacy and guardianships, the director said. Schiesman gave the council program statistics: 830 active cases involving 918 children, a 7–9% year‑over‑year increase, and a 144% increase in guardianship cases in the past year. She said the program has 10 county‑funded full‑time positions and 10 part‑time grant‑funded positions; one VOCA‑funded position is at risk. "If we lose that person, that entire caseload is not going to go onto a wait list and we won't be able to serve those children," Schiesman said.
Council discussion focused on procedure and timing. Council members noted that requests for new positions typically go through the Budget Committee during the annual budget process and asked whether approving a county position now would jeopardize the VOCA grant (which generally will not cover positions the county already provides). Schiesman said the council has previously approved positions that did not take effect until grant funding ended; in those cases the county position served as a backstop to retain staff when federal dollars expire.
Schiesman described administrative constraints that make the request time‑sensitive: program modification reviews have taken months and the grantor can reduce or end funding if it determines funds are not being expended. She said one recent program modification to reallocate about $4,000 to mileage did not finalize until August.
The council did not record a roll call vote on the CASA request within the provided transcript. The director said she would provide additional budget and grant detail on request.
Ending: Schiesman asked the council to consider the options as an immediate step to preserve caseload coverage; council members indicated they would seek more information from the Budget Committee before making a final decision.
