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This is the WFHB Local News for Thursday, March 28th, 2024.
Later in the program, WFHB Environmental Correspondent Zyro Roze speaks with Elisa Pokral, Community Outreach Coordinator of the newly rebranded Waste Reduction District of Monroe County. More in the bottom half of our program.
Also coming up in the next half hour, we hear from Kristin Bishay, executive director of Monroe County CASA, about how federal funding cuts would impact the organization.
That’s coming up next in your local headlines:
VOCA Budget Cuts Would Affect Monroe County CASA
Funding for the Victims of Crime Act, also known as VOCA could be cut by nearly a third. This comes amidst talks of budget cuts in the U.S. Congress.
The loss of federal funding would impact local organizations who stand up for crime victims, such as the Monroe County Court Appointed Special Advocates, or CASA.
Kristin Bishay, executive director of Monroe County CASA, explained what the organization does in the community.
“We are a nonprofit organization that recruits and trains community volunteers who represent children who were in the court system because they’ve been abused or neglected. And what the advocates do is become the voice of the child,” she said.
Bishay discussed the potential federal funding cuts and how that would affect Monroe County CASA. She said funds from VOCA have been granted to CASA for over 25 years. The loss of funds would add a burden to the organization, according to Bishay.
“This year, the application I just submitted this past week, they told us to expect a 40 percent cut. And that’s on top of our already 20 percent cut from the year before,” said Bishay. “What we’re doing is we’re trying to make adjustments.”
She said that non-profit organizations can often be strapped for funding and resources. However, she said the work that Monroe County CASA does is vital for children who are involved in juvenile court due to abuse or neglect.
“Without a CASA volunteer in there, the kids don’t have a voice,” she said.
The month of April marks Child Abuse Prevention Month across the United States. Bishay said that CASA prides itself on standing up for children. She touched on the organization’s advocacy in light of Child Abuse Prevention Month.
“Indiana has the most lenient laws about child abuse than any other state in the nation, and there are statistics to show this,” said Bishay. “If we got into these families earlier before severe harm happened before things escalated to a high standard, then we could prevent a lot of this abuse, prevent the harm and trauma to a child and spend far less dollars doing it.”
Again, Bishay said that non-profit groups are typically underfunded and under-resourced. In the meantime, she said Monroe County CASA will continue to look for volunteers and donors in spite of the potential funding cuts.
“What we need the most are volunteers. We have experienced volunteerism going way down. And we’re hearing this across the board in the state and the nation with CASA and most other nonprofits who use volunteers to provide services. And it’s getting to be critical. We are at the lowest number of volunteers that we have had probably in 10 years,” said Bishay.
To learn more about how to volunteer with Court Appointed Special Advocates, visit this link.
Richland Bean Blossom School Board Approves Rate Changes for Latch Key Program
At the Richland-Bean Blossom School Board meeting on Monday, March 25th, Assistant Superintendent Matt Irwin asked the board to approve rate changes to the K-5 before and after school care program, also known as the Latch Key Program.
The board approved the rate adjustments, which will take effect at the start of the 2024-2025 school year. The next school board meeting will be held on April 15th at 6pm.
Feature Report:
In today’s feature report, WFHB Environmental Correspondent Zyro Roze speaks with Elisa Pokral, Community Outreach Coordinator of the newly rebranded Waste Reduction District of Monroe County. For more environmental news coverage, tune into Eco Report at 5 p.m. each Friday on WFHB. We now turn to Zyro Roze for that interview.
Credits:
You’ve been listening to the WFHB Local News,
Today’s headlines were written by Kelsey Pease, Kade Young and Noelle Herhusky-Schneider, in partnership with Cats – Community Access Television Services.
Our feature was produced by Zyro Roze.
Our theme music is provided by Mark Bingham and the Social Climbers.
Engineer and Executive producer is Kade Young.
