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PLAINS TWP. — Six local charities presented their cases Tuesday at the Luzerne Foundation’s 2019 Millennium Circle Annual Luncheon — each vying for a $25,000 grant.
After each organization gave a three-minute presentation and answered questions from the audience, the members voted.
And the winner is CASA of Luzerne County.
The six charities that presented were:
• Family Service Association of NEPA – 2-1-1 Help Line
• McGlynn Learning Center – Outreach Expansion
• CASA of Luzerne County – CASA Recruiting & Training
• Dinners for Kids – Program Expansion
• The Arc of Luzerne County – ConnectedInLC
• Volunteers in Medicine – Dental Clinic
John Aciukewicz, executive director, made the presentation Tuesday, representing the organization with offices at 667 South River St., in Plains Township.
He said the $25,000 grant will be used to support the staff through recruitment. training and support of advocates. The ratio of advocates to staff should be 25 to 1. CASA is looking to add a new advocate coordinator because of the increase in advocates.
Right now CASA has 70 advocates and 2 advocate coordinators. Aciukewicz hopes to add 17 advocates by the end of the year and a total of 90 by the end of 2020, thus the need for another advocate coordinator.
”Six months ago, our local papers reported that a 9-year-old child suffered physical abuse at the hands of her father, step-mother, and paternal grandmother,” Aciukewicz said. “The child’s mother abandoned her when she was 8 months old.”
Aciukewicz said the allegations were reported as follows:
• She was locked in a bedroom for extended periods and tied to her bed.
• She was forced to wear urine-soaked clothing and prevented from showering for extended periods.
• She had a urine-soaked diaper placed on her head and on several occasions was forced to urinate in a bucket containing her toys.
• She was deprived of food for extended periods.
• When she was given food, she was forced to eat out of a soiled diaper or food was thrown on the floor so she would have to eat from the ground.
• The adults made her younger siblings strike her.
• Her grandmother threw her against walls, hit her with a small baseball bat and one time smashed a coffee cup over her head.
Aciukewicz said the abuse occurred over a prolonged period and the adults were arrested earlier this year. The child was removed from their care 11 months ago and she is currently in her fourth foster care placement.
CASA has been appointed to advocate for the child.
“For the first time, there is an adult in her life who can look her in the eyes and say, ‘this should never have happened to you’ and ‘this was not your fault’ and ‘I am going to do my best so that this does not happen to you again,’” Aciukewicz said.
Aciukewicz said the child has six younger step-siblings in three different foster care placements, between the ages of 3-8. He said because of generous donors like The Luzerne Foundation, CASA was recently able to assign advocates to two of the step-siblings and CASA has two advocates available to be appointed to her remaining four siblings.
Aciukewicz said three years ago CASA of Luzerne County had 18 advocates — today, there are 52. Also, CASA has 18 people participating in its fall training class, seeking to become the agency’s newest advocates by the end of the year.
”Please know that your support allows us to be faithful to our mission to provide every child in Luzerne County who suffers abuse or neglect with a court appointed special advocate,” Aciukewicz said.
