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Judge asks DuBois County to fund CASA position as VOCA grant wanes
Summary
Judge Nate Marquez told the council the county-funded part‑time CASA administrator should be moved from a shrinking federal VOCA grant to county general funds to cover $5,201 for the remainder of this fiscal year and justify budgeting roughly $26,000 annually going forward to keep volunteer guardian services for children in place.
Judge Nate Marquez asked the DuBois County Council on Jan. 22 to move a part‑time CASA (Court‑Appointed Special Advocates) position from federal VOCA funding to county general funds, saying the federal Victims of Crime Act grant that has supported the job since about 2018 is “drying up.”
Marquez, who oversees CASA in circuit court, said the VOCA cycle ends Sept. 30 and that the county would need to fund $5,201 to cover the position for the remainder of this fiscal year. He told the council the ongoing annual cost to the county would be approximately $26,000 depending on hourly rates the county sets.
The judge stressed program and statutory implications if the position lapses: CASA supervisors manage dozens of volunteers and direct advocacy for children. Without the staff position, Marquez said children could be put on wait lists and the court would be required to appoint certified guardian ad litem attorneys — a more costly option because certified guardians in the community are typically private attorneys.
Marquez also described administrative burdens of the VOCA grant, including periodic fingerprinting of volunteers and staff that carries local costs and frequent reporting and site visits. He urged the council to authorize advertising for the needed appropriation now and to include the position in the 2027 county budget.
Council members asked clarifying questions about benefits, PTO and how the position would be coded in CASA’s budget; councilors indicated support and recorded a motion and voice approval to move forward with the $5,201 appropriation and with advertising for the position under county general.
