Clallam County CASA program seeks grant

Commissioners set to look at budget emergency today

PORT ANGELES — Clallam County is seeking a federal $750,000 grant to support its Court Appointed Special Advocate program over the next three years.

The Clallam County commissioners will consider a $48,590 budget emergency today to temporarily fund those positions through September.

Jody Jacobson, the director of Juvenile and Family Services, told Clallam County commissioners earlier this month that the award would be announced in September and would start in October.

“We applied to continue funding our CASA program with our current two CASA volunteer coordinators and the part-time assistant to continue with recruitment and retention and support of our volunteers,” she said.

The grant is called “Enhancing Community Responses to the Opioid Crisis: Serving Our Youngest Victims.”

The hope is that the grant would replace the Victims of Crime Act grant that had been funding 2.5 positions that have been key to the program’s growth in recent months, she said.

The 20-month grant funded 2.5 positions that helped the program go from 19 CASAs in 2017, serving a third of the children in dependency court, up to 66 volunteers now. There are expected to be 80 volunteers by this fall.

The county has been scrambling to find funding for the program after county officials learned last month that the state would not renew the grant.

Commissioner Randy Johnson said earlier this month that one of the people filling those positions has decided not to continue with the CASA program because of the lack of stability.

Those employees support CASA volunteers, especially new volunteers, who advocate for the county’s most vulnerable children in dependency court. They learn about each situation and tell the judge what is best for each child.

“In the case of the CASA program, if you don’t have a CASA volunteer, you have someone we pay for on the legal side with Public Defender,” Johnson said. “We end up paying for it.

“In my personal opinion, if we don’t have people looking after these kids on a continuing basis, everyone in this room is going to pay for it for the rest of their lives.”

Jacobson estimated that about 85 percent of the children in dependency court in Clallam County are there as a result of the local opioid crisis.

She said it’s “hard to say” if the county will receive the grant, but that it would be critical for funding the 2.5 positions in the long term.

Jacobson said that if the county does not receive the grant, it will need to scale back on its recruitment efforts and volunteer support.

Commissioner Mark Ozias said this issue highlights the “ongoing challenge in county government across many areas we operate,” he said.

“How do we provide funding for programs that have been grant-funded,” Ozias said. “This underscores the importance of maintaining a general fund reserve so we have flexibility when a program has an unexpected need.”

The service is mandated by the state. When there are not enough volunteers to advocate for all the children in dependency court, attorneys are assigned to them.

“Not having child representation in the dependency system has a huge impact on the health and welfare of the most vulnerable victims in our community,” Jacobson wrote in county form for applying for grants.

“Statistics show that without representation by a CASA volunteer, a child spends longer in foster care, is moved from stranger home to stranger home at a much higher rate, and is less likely to receive individualized care.

“With a CASA volunteer they are more likely to find their forever home.”

________

Reporter Jesse Major can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 56250, or at jmajor@peninsula dailynews.com.

More in News

National IV shortages impact Peninsula

Major manufacturers affected by storms in southeastern US

Clallam prison moves towards rehabilitation

New program aims for staff wellness, incarcerated re-entry

Barbara Wise displays the Washington Newspaper Publisher Association’s Miles Turnbull Master Editor/Publisher award honoring her late husband John Brewer at the WNPA convention in Olympia on Oct. 5. (photo by Ileana Murphy Haggerty)
Brewer, former PDN publisher/editor, honored

Recognized by state association

Port Angeles School Board talks budget challenges

Security a priority for new Stevens Middle School

Road work at Port Angeles intersections starting Tuesday

The city of Port Angeles’ signal controller upgrade project… Continue reading

Port of Port Townsend reviews draft budget

Taking ‘conservative approach’ to finances

Participants in the Women’s March for Humanity cross Sequim Avenue at Washington Street in downtown Sequim on Saturday, part of a rally for U.S. presidential candidate Kamala Harris and running mate Tim Walz. The group of about 200 participants marched from Centennial Place Park to Fifth Avenue and back. (Keith Thorpe/Peninsula Daily News)
Women’s march

Participants in the Women’s March for Humanity cross Sequim Avenue at Washington… Continue reading

Proprietary vessel used in terramation process. by permission of Earth Funeral.
Conservation effort uses soil from terramation

Quilcene property holds ‘open house’ for families

Clallam County reduces its 2025 budget deficit

Eight full-time positions eliminated

Clallam approves four speed limit changes

Towne Road now open to traffic