The Marion County Board has made a $25,000 contribution to CASA of South Central Illinois. The money will come from the opioid settlement fund. The $207,000 received so far from pharmacies and drug companies involved in the distribution of opioids is set aside to assist those impacted by opioid addiction.
The Program Director for CASA, Tavan Hiestand, outlined their purpose when making the request for assistance.
“Oftentimes CASAs are the only consistent person in the life of a child who has been thrust into the ever-changing chaotic world that is foster care,” Heistand said. “We are currently serving 80 children in Marion County. 80% of those children have been brought into care due to reasons directly related to substance abuse. One day we would like to say that we are serving 100% of the children here in Marion County. To help achieve our goal we need the support of our community the most, as our goal is building stronger communities by building stronger families.”
Hiestand reports 244 children are currently in foster care overwhelming the available DCFS staff.
Marion County State’s Attorney Tim Hudspeth told the board this was an appropriate usage of the fund and suggested how it could help CASA.
“Office space, travel time, supplies, overhead,” Hudspeth said. “I think this will help them train more advocates and have their advocates in a better position to serve these kids and their families.”
This is the first expenditure from the settlement fund which Hudspeth expects to continue to grow for at least the near future.
In other action, the board learned Trueroll, a company hired to review property tax exemptions to confirm if they are proper, was able to return $1.7-million in equalized assessed valuation to the tax rolls. Supervisor of Assessment Mark Miller says that amounts to $136,000 in property tax revenue that will lower tax rates for other county residents.
