The Illinois Department of Children and Family Services [DCFS] has asked McLean County to further expand child welfare services, implementing a Court Appointed Special Advocates [CASA] program in Ford County.
CASA assigns volunteer advocates to children in the DCFS system, who work independently from a DCFS caseworker.
At a meeting Wednesday, the county’s Justice Committee approved an intergovernmental agreement [IGA] between Ford and McLean counties following a brief presentation by Children's Advocacy Center director Aileen Pagan Vega.
Since forming in 1995, CASA McLean County has trained more than 750 volunteers and served nearly 4,000 children. Ford County does not currently have such a program.
Vega said the agreement is modelled after another recent expansion of McLean County’s CASA program into Logan County. Funding for the 2026 and 2027 fiscal years has been provided through a DCFS Expansion Grant. Future years will be paid for through a combination of funds from Ford County and an increase to McLean County’s DCFS grant.
“We have already received the grant funding for this year for Ford County,” she said, “but we are in the process of applying through the regular process and one of the first steps is to get the IGA between McLean and Ford County agreed upon.”
The agreement must still pass the full County Board.
Other business
The Justice Committee additionally approved personnel costs of $42,000 funded through a grant from Illinois’ Attorney General associated with the Violent Crime Victims Assistance Program.
Vega said the grant will be applied to paying a forensic interviewer, who is trained to gather neutral information from children and vulnerable adults suspected to be victims of abuse or other crimes.
State’s attorney Erika Reynolds gave a staffing update, noting one attorney who is moving out of state. The office currently has three openings.
