Commissioners have discussed adding a $45 fee in certain court cases involving juveniles during the past couple of weeks. CASA would get $42 and the court clerk would receive $3.
CASA of Bradley County is part of a national organization founded in 1977 with the mission of representing the best interests of children in court. The ultimate goal is to secure a safe, permanent home for abused and neglected children.
Federal law requires juvenile and family courts appoint a legal guardian in all cases of child abuse and neglect. In Tennessee, that person must be an attorney. CASA volunteers may also be appointed by judges to watch over and advocate for abused and neglected children, to make sure they don’t get lost in the overburdened legal and social service system or languish in an inappropriate group or foster home.
The local organization began accepting cases in October 2008 as part of the CASA Corridor of East Tennessee, which includes Meigs, McMinn and Rhea counties.
CASA of Bradley County Director Suzanne Wisdom said the Bradley County office quickly grew and is handling a large caseload from General Sessions Judge Daniel Swafford’s court, and has simply outgrown the umbrella organization.
Wisdom said the local nonprofit office was originally funded with a startup grant from the statewide CASA. The second year of funding came from an expansion grant from the national organization.
“Although this is a new program in Bradley County, we have already surpassed the surrounding counties in the number of children served. There is definitely a great need for this program in our community. We have represented the best interest of nearly 150 children in the court system,” she said.
Commissioner Jeff Yarber, who is on the Juvenile Committee, said recently in response to questions from other commissioners that the program would be supported by people who commit crimes.
“It’s going to be a fee imposed on people convicted of certain crimes,” he said. “It’s a self-sustaining program. It’s not going to be a program paid for by city or county taxpayers.”
He said they are not looking for any funds from the county general fund. Yarber said the budget will be based on the amount of money brought in by the imposed fee.
“Her budget will be based on how much money is brought in by the fee,” he said. “Keep in mind, this is an attempt to keep the program up and running. If it doesn’t work out, we can always rescind the resolution and say we gave it a valiant try. Without pulling on anybody’s heart strings, we are dealing with the most vulnerable of vulnerable. Anything we can do to add a support system to abused (or) neglected children is in the best interest of the community for us to do that.”
Wisdom said there are 22 CASA programs in Tennessee. The court cost is how other counties in Tennessee have supported their programs.
