Advocates for Kansas foster children are assessing the impacts of the latest funding cuts for CASA made by President Donald Trump's administration.
The program works to teach volunteers to advocate for foster children as well as ensure their interests are represented. The National Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) organization was one of the programs seeing its federal grants through the U.S. Department of Justice cut last week.
Latest Funding Cuts
The situation has forced the state and local CASA programs to assess the impacts of the Trump administration's funding cuts. The national CASA organization reported that three of its grants through the DOJ were part of the 360 that were cut by the agency.
The hundreds of grants that have been cut reportedly totaled more than $800 million of funding for CASA. Kansas CASA Association State Director Deena Gage explained the importance of advocates, who are appointed by judges to assist children in foster care, according to KWCH.
She added that advocates get to know foster kids and talk with family members, foster parents, teachers, doctors, and anyone involved in the children's lives. They are also responsible for making recommendations to the judge for what they believe is best for the child's welfare.
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Currently, Kansas has 20 local programs that train volunteers to serve as advocates for foster children. That training is something that is being provided by the national organization using its funds.
The association now plans to appeal the latest funding cuts and has asked the public to contact their elected officials and try to explain to them the gravity of the situation. They also believe that the development has far-reaching impacts on programs across the country, The Imprint reported.
The CASA Program
The CASA awards were among the ones with the highest funding that were part of the latest cuts. Many of the organizations that were part of the list did not have funding that reached more than $5 million in grants.
The administration's reasoning for cutting funding to CASA was that they "no longer effectuate the program goals or agency priorities." The programs that were terminated include "protecting American children."
The funding cut for CASA comes as it has been operating since the late 1970s and has since spread throughout the country with various local offices. The situation has raised concerns about the future of the CASA program in the Northstate.
Tenneal Bringle, the assistant director of Outreach and Education of the Northern Valley Catholic Social Service, talked about the potential impacts of the development. He said that they will be forced to work harder to ensure that every child is protected and all advocates remain in place, as per KRCRTV.
