Read the full article by Jacob Peterson at Hmong Daily News
There were 1,136 children in the foster care system in Sacramento County as of April 1, according to the California Child Welfare Indicators Project’s most recent point in time count. These youth are beginning to see some of the early ramifications of the many federal cuts that have taken place since January.
One of the programs that serves about 300 of these kids is the non-profit Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) of Sacramento. Tiffany Sickler, the program’s CEO, said one of the biggest direct effects of the federal cuts has been the uncertainty it’s brought in regards to federal grants the nonprofit applies for, illustrated best by the back and forth between the National CASA organization and the Department of Justice since April.
“Initially, there was an executive order that cut all of the previously congressionally appropriated funding for the national CASA organization,” Sickler said. “That was about $40 million dollars.”