Hundreds of volunteers gathered at the Statehouse Monday to rally for increased funding for the state’s Court Appointed Special Advocate, or CASA, program.
The program assigns volunteers to abused and neglected children who need a voice in the courtroom. More than 4,000 children in Indiana are waiting for CASA volunteers.
Adrienne Reed works with CASAs in Marion County and says there need to be twice as many volunteers to meet demand.
“Oh, we are desperate for more. Absolutely. We’re about 350 active CASA volunteers currently but in order for us to adequately serve all of the kids through Marion County right now, we’d need about 600 CASA volunteers,” Reed says.
The CASA program is also seeking an additional $2.1 million in annual funding from the Supreme Court.
