CASA program warns cuts will force staff losses as grants shrink

Glenn Cheeseman, director of the county's CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) program, told the Vigo County Budget Committee that the program faces immediate staffing and service risks after state grant reductions.

Cheeseman said the program will be short $49,331 next year because state General Assistance and capacity grants were reduced and that the VOCA grant supporting an additional position ends Sept. 30. "We are going to be down three staff members," he said, citing the combined grant losses. The program currently serves about 830 active cases with 18 staff and 29 volunteers and Cheeseman said losing those positions would push each remaining staff member's caseload up by roughly nine cases.

The CASA director urged the committee to move two part-time positions that are currently funded by expiring grants into the county juvenile budget so the employees can be retained. He said that shifting two part-time roles into the juvenile budget is more cost-effective than converting to a single full-time hire and would preserve court and intake continuity: "If we lose three staff members, that's 132 cases that will be divided amongst us," Cheeseman said.

Why it matters: CASA provides court advocacy and case oversight for children in dependency proceedings; Cheeseman described volunteers and paid staff as the only consistent adult representation many of those children have in court. The cuts come as the program is absorbing new statutory responsibilities — including a surge in guardianship and dual-status cases — that have more than doubled some workload lines.

Details and supporting numbers: Cheeseman said the program had been operating with a limited cash reserve carried forward from earlier years but that cushion is nearly exhausted. He listed current caseload metrics (about 700 child-in-need cases plus additional TPRs and guardianships totaling 830 cases) and said that two part-time roles funded through GA grants expire in December while a VOCA-funded position ends in September.

Responses and next steps: Committee members signaled sympathy and asked staff to examine budget transfers and other ways to preserve the two roles; one member said the council will consider Cheeseman's request as part of final budget deliberations. Cheeseman asked committee members to "bring friends" to advocate publicly for the program and to remember the program's role in court oversight.

The committee recessed without taking a final vote; the matter is expected to be revisited during final budget readings.