Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Victim Services topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
CASA director seeks VOCA grant to support volunteers and salaries
Summary
The county's CASA director said she is applying for a $60,000 VOCA grant over two years to support salaries, benefits and volunteer mileage, and noted the program can supply match through volunteer hours and in-kind contributions.
Chrissy Evans, the newly appointed director of the county CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) program, told commissioners she plans to apply for a Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) grant from the Indiana Department of Justice.
Evans said the proposal requests $60,000 over two years: roughly $20,000 per year to supplement salaries, $5,000 per year for benefits and supplements, and $5,000 per year to reimburse volunteer mileage for court travel. She said the program is grant-dependent and that volunteer mileage and in-kind space use could count toward the required match. "We do have the funding to cover it if you don't feel you need to do that," Evans said, noting the county is welcome to contribute but the match can be met through in-kind and volunteer-hour valuation.
Evans also summarized program workload: since the program’s inception about eight years ago approximately 475 county children have been served; when she became director the program had 32 children and it now serves about 64 with the same number of volunteers, creating challenges for monthly visitation requirements and volunteer travel to placements in other counties.
Commissioners did not take an immediate funding vote; staff said they would revisit any formal match request if the grant is awarded.
