'Children will be slipping through the cracks'
JANESVILLE — The 7-year-old was acting out and had attempted suicide.
Most of the child’s troubles were the result of being placed in foster care outside of Rock County and not being allowed to see relatives for more than six months.
But after a Court Appointed Special Advocate volunteer informed the judge of the child’s need for mental health services and the necessity to reconnect with family, good things happened.
“The child did receive inpatient mental health services, upon discharge from that facility had a visit with grandparents and eventually was removed from the foster home and placed with grandparents,’’ said Wanda Diderich, CASA program director.
The case represents one of 105 abused and neglected children served by CASA of Rock County volunteers, who have been speaking up in the best interest of children since October 2005.
CASA has 21 volunteers serving 33 children, but about 150 new children are in need of services each year, Diderich said.
Even more worrisome is that CASA, a nonprofit program of Family Services of Southern Wisconsin and Northern Illinois, won’t be able to meet even part of the local need because National CASA Association funding ended June 30.
CASA of Rock County received $162,000 from the national organization over the past five years, but it did not receive grant money for its 2010-11 fiscal year that started July 1.
The national CASA money is not intended to sustain programs long term, Diderich said.
“Eventually, the community has to wrap around the program for it to be sustained,’’ she said.
When funding wasn’t received, “it was disheartening,” Diderich said.
The $40,000 shortfall makes up half of the program’s operating budget.
“We’re deeply concerned that a program such as this is at risk of going away because of this gap in funding. In order to mobilize the volunteers, we have to have the staff to train, support and supervise them. Our budget is pretty small for what we’re able to do,’’ Diderich said.
Diderich works at CASA full-time and has a part-time co-worker.
Loss of national funding, she said, “does not reflect the quality of our program or standards or procedures we follow. We have measures in place to assure the services we offer are quality,’’ she said.
The Wisconsin CASA Association helped put together a direct mail appeal asking those familiar with CASA of Rock County for financial support. Since the beginning of June, CASA has received $850. Letters also were sent to foundations asking for money, Diderich said.
“What we really need are some champions of our program, funding we feel like we can depend on,’’ she said.
Without CASA, “numerous children will be slipping through the cracks,’’ said Kim Churchill, a CASA volunteer of three years.
New CASA volunteer Roy Carter agreed that if CASA was eliminated, it would be devastating.
“CASA volunteers build relationships with these children who are so lost and don’t trust anyone. It just takes time,” he said.
But time isn’t on CASA’s side.
For the short term—through the end of 2010—CASA should be able to continue, Diderich said.
“But next year,” she said, “we’re at extreme risk.”
Aug 2, 2010 at 1:18 p.m.
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I'm surprised it is only 150 kids, I see parents who could care less about their children all over Janesville. Single moms who had the children for the support check so they wouldn't have to work, dad's nowhere in the picture. Also 2 parent homes where the adults regard their lives more important than their children. Verbal and physical abuse, emotional and mental abuse, lack of any structure or support. It breaks my heart.
Jul 19, 2010 at 5:34 p.m.
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mickie- According to a lot of info I've seen, a lot is caused by competent fathers being KICKED OUT of their children's lives by corrupt "courts" and their operatives....The "Divorce Industry".
Jul 19, 2010 at 3:35 p.m.
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tuth1- its a "passing the buck" thing. Only it is a "passing the kid" thing now. Parents who are in most cases lazy, selfish -don`t want to raise the kids they had. So they allow them to run free, cause havoc and then pass them off to the system. Parents need to "buck up" and take their responsibilities more serious. Now I agree there are some troubled homes that stem from mental issues, abuse etc.. etc.. However, for the most part its just laziness and ignorance.
Jul 19, 2010 at 12:13 p.m.
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Keith's comment may be hard to follow but he is probably referring to the ridiculous, profit-making Divorce Industry going on where "career people" make money off of the deliberate creation of family troubles and deliberate breakup of GOOD families.
I have no direct experience with this but I've run across a LOT of information on this subject...EVERYONE should be looking into this.
I have really wondered WHY there is such a HUGE call for "foster parents" in a first-world country..... It kind of defies logic.
Jul 19, 2010 at 11:26 a.m.
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Of course all children are being let down by the adults that are supposed to be protecting them. It's the same with people with disabilities and the elderly. Because they don't have the loudest voice, they get served the least AND are the first to get funding taken away from them.
Think about it, what services do we hear about losing money and having to close down programs? What an embarrassment that society finds children, the elderly, and those with disabilities as disposable!!
Jul 19, 2010 at 11:19 a.m.
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I would like to know just how CPS has the child s best interest at heart when the breaking up of the home was quite likely the reason the mom uses drugs ans then would be the reason for the drug use, trying to survive the effects of our justice system making the problem to began with when we punish citizens into drug use and punish them into abusive outside influential services where the bureaucrat makes money on the punishment and the sell of drugs? Is that not just making of domestic problems by state sanctioned terrorism by design?
Jul 19, 2010 at 6:36 a.m.
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Here we are again folks. We always run to grab these federal grants as free money and then when they run out, as they always do, we cry because we should have the money to continue them. If our federal taxes were lower and we didn't have to send so much money to Washington (where everyone takes theirs off the top before deciding what's best for us) we might have more money locally for great programs like this. There's no free lunch.
Jul 19, 2010 at 12:28 a.m.
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This is absurd. This is something this community NEEDS so badly and yet our council members are willing to just give away 2 million dollars on an ice arena, sit and bicker over how many stupid sheets of ice said arena needs, and police officers are running out to buy new cars when the old ones worked just fine? Something is SERIOUSLY wrong with with this town! WAKE UP JANESVILLE...the children that you are neglecting now will be the ones who will eventually be deciding the fate of your city some day!
Jul 18, 2010 at 10:27 p.m.
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absolutely a cause worth funding. if I had $5 to spare, I would certainly toss it CASA's way. this is extremely disheartening.
Jul 18, 2010 at 9:48 p.m.
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A worthy cause that should be supported by our communities.
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