News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
Oversight of UCHRA’s Court-Appointed Special Advocates program, or CASA, will be moved to CASA of the Tennessee Valley.
The program is designed for children going through the court system who need some kind of guardian while they are involved with the courts. UCHRA Executive Director Mark Farley said it has been difficult for the agency to work with CASA because until now, it had only been utilized by just four Upper Cumberland counties: Smith, Putnam, Overton, and Cumberland.
“You know from our philosophy, we put stuff into regional work, and when you have a program that doesn’t carry all 14 counties we can’t justify putting dues money and local money and those type of things into that program,” Farley said. “So they’ve had to rely a lot on fundraising.”
Farley said when Smith County decided to start a new family advocacy center model last year, it presented the opportunity for UCHRA to do the same. He said they realized in talking to the state office about the remaining three counties, it would be best to partner with CASA of the Tennessee Valley going forward.
Farley said the organization specifically provides those services for a multitude of counties in east Tennessee. He said it will make their program and UCHRA stronger in the long run.
“And it is a very amicable split, we’ve talked through it, and I think they’ll be in better hands going that route,” Farley said.
Farley said they have asked that starting October 1st, the Tennessee Commission on Children and Youth will create the contract between those two entities. The UCHRA executive committee approved a resolution creating that change at its meeting Wednesday morning.
