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Child Enrichment, Project Access and library representatives urge commissioners to protect nonprofit funding
Summary
Representatives of Child Enrichment, Project Access and the Augusta Richmond County Public Library briefed commissioners during public comment on the work they provide—child forensic interviews and advocacy, indigent medical care, and literacy/expungement and community services—asking commissioners to consider the local public‑safety and public‑
Several nonprofit leaders spoke briefly at the end of the work session as the commission considered NGO reductions among other budget choices.
Carrie Villalbrook, executive director of Child Enrichment, said her organization is the only nationally and state‑recognized child advocacy center and CASA program in the community and conducts forensic interviews for law enforcement. "Each year, we conduct over 700 forensic interviews for law enforcement in our community, providing reliable evidence while reducing the trauma children face when telling their stories," she said, and warned the county is seeing "a significant increase in the number of cases involving commercial exploitation of children."
Daniel Walton of Project Access described a long‑running indigent medical care program that coordinates volunteer physicians, hospital care and prescription assistance for low‑income uninsured residents; he said cutting that line item would reduce care for hundreds of residents currently enrolled.
Representatives of the Augusta Richmond County Public Library described summer reading and other outreach: library staff said the system's active cardholder base grew from 66,000 to 94,000 and that summer programs produced tens of thousands of checked‑out items and millions of minutes read across participants. The library director also described partnerships the library provides—expungement clinics, veteran outreach and digital access for home‑schooled and remote students.
Commissioners did not take action on NGO funding at the work session but several asked staff to provide a detailed NGO cut list and to distinguish statutory or mandated partnerships from discretionary grants before the next meeting.
