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Commissioners split child-safety fees between Bridge services and Amarillo Area CASA
Summary
Potter County approved a 50/50 allocation of child-safety fee funds to two local providers after agency presentations that cited forensic interviews, medical exams, counseling referrals and prevention education for hundreds of children in 2025.
Two county service providers described use of child-safety fee funds and requested allocation for 2026. Shelly, representing the regional forensic-interview program often called "the Bridge," told commissioners the program conducted about 288 forensic interviews in Potter County in 2025, with 80 forensic medical exams and 95 counseling referrals. "It costs us about $1,500 per child to receive those full-rate services," Shelly said, listing forensic interviews, Play It Safe prevention education, medical exams and counseling as components of the full service package.
Jara, from Amarillo Area CASA, said her program served around 200 children across seven counties this year, with roughly a third from Potter County. "Our volunteers and staff spent 3,200 hours advocating for those children," Jara said, and she asked the court to split the fee funding evenly as in the prior year. Commissioners moved to divide the child safety fee 50/50 between the two agencies; the motion passed 5-0. The court noted that the city will receive the remaining portion of the revenue as in prior allocations.
