LAFAYETTE — A new tool will reduce the number of abused and neglected children waiting for help from a Court Appointed Special Advocate, or CASA.
Tippecanoe County CASA was one of eight programs in Indiana selected to pilot the juvenile case assessment tool — an evidence-based triage system that uses more than 30 criteria to sort children by their level of risk and the services needed.
"We have a more concrete way to look at things and determine where and how we can best meet the needs of that child," Tippecanoe CASA Executive Director Coleen Connor said.
A $45,000 state grant will fund an additional position as well as other equipment necessary to roll out the pilot by 2018, Connor said.
"What it will do is help get more children off the wait list so we can get them effectively and efficiently advocated for," she said. "I want to get them from where they were to where they need to be in a timely manner so they're not just floundering in this system."
Tippecanoe County CASA volunteers speak out for the best interest of abused and neglected children while they traverse the local court system.
Heroin, opioids and other drugs often are factors in many cases, Connor said.
"I truly do think mental illness and opioid addiction is huge in our cases," she said. "Heroin is back big time, it's everywhere. So, yes, I think that has a lot to do with it and our kiddos are the silent victims of all this."
More than 130 children are on the organization's wait list.