Another Viewpoint: Fact Checking Needed
As a former employee of the Geauga County Probate/Juvenile Court from 1998-2015, I appreciated the lovely tribute to Judge Chip Henry near the sixth anniversary of his untimely death that another former employee made in her June 15 letter to the editor.
The inappropriate response to this tribute by Kim Laurie, court employee, was interpreted as a “passive aggressive assertion about the current judge” and resulted in a boastful guest column about Judge Grendell’s accomplishments.
Judge Henry was not boastful; he would not have allowed altered facts and he would have insisted on giving credit to those responsible for court achievements.
Allow me to explain some facts I have as the former Program Director of CASA for KIDS (Court Appointed Special Advocates).
Kim Laurie talks of a 30 percent operating expense cut for the Juvenile Court. This is partly due to the fact the CASA program became fully financially supported by federal grant money in 2015. This was made possible when an act of Congress — not an act of Judge Grendell — increased the Victims of Crime Act funds that CASA for KIDS has been receiving since 1998 through the Ohio Attorney General’s Office.
Kim Laurie states that CASA has “consistently grown” from 50 volunteers in 2012 to “almost 70” in 2106. In fact, the CASA program had 63 guardian ad litem volunteers in 2012 and 79 in 2013. (This information appears in the Juvenile Court annual reports on the court website.)
The credit for the increase in CASA volunteers starting in 2012 goes to the dedicated CASA program staff that recruited, trained, supervised and supported more volunteers to cover the increase in abuse/neglect cases due to the opiate/heroin crisis.
CASA for KIDS was instituted in 1997 by Judge Henry and was a well-established, respected program when Judge Grendell was appointed in 2011.
As one of Judge Grendell’s accomplishments, Kim Laurie lists the 2013 “Roger Morris Helping Hand Award” given to the CASA volunteers by the Geauga County Board of Mental Health and Recovery Services. The nomination for this award was submitted by CASA staff. The award recognized the CASA volunteers’ significant impact as advocates for the children involved in court due to abuse and neglect.
In 2012, the CASA volunteers were also nominated by CASA staff and recognized by the American Red Cross as “Hometown Hero’s.”
The real accolades truly should be directed to the 300+ CASA volunteers who have advocated for and made a long-term difference in the lives of over 2000 children in our community for the last 20 years!
Christine Steigerwald, M.Ed.
Former Program Director, CASA for KIDS of Geauga County Juvenile Court
