Kids Voice of Indiana Inc

Kids\u2019 Voice is a prevention organization that deters abused, neglected and endangered children from experiencing or re-experiencing abuse and/or neglect. Without prevention services, abused, neglected, and/or endangered children can become wards of the state, otherwise referred to as a Child in Need of Services (CHINS). The number of CHINS cases has been steadily rising since 2012. As of October 30, 2017, the Indiana Department of Child Services reported 23,956 CHINS filings. In 2015, in Marion County alone, 6,075 Child Neglect and Physical/Sexual Abuse cases were substantiated, yet only 3,844 CHINS cases were filed, leaving 2,231 abused/neglected children without court intervention and protection. These are the families accessing the Kids\u2019 Voice programs. \n\nThe focus of the programs at Kids\u2019 Voice is to advocate, educate, and protect abused and neglected children. Domestic violence is increasing in Indiana. According to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, in a single day in 2014 Indiana domestic violence programs served 1,807 victims/survivors. The US Department of Justice Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention in the October 2011 Juvenile Justice Bulletin article, \u201CChildren\u2019s Exposure to Intimate Partner Violence and other Family Violence,\u201D stated that more than 11% of children are exposed to some form of family violence. The only way to break the cycle is to provide children a safe environment to ensure violent behaviors are not passed onto the next generation. \n\nKids\u2019 Voice\u2019s goal is to serve current child victims and/or prevent children from becoming victims of abuse or neglect. We know that safe, stable, and nurturing relationships and environments are essential to prevent children from having Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs). A study conducted by the Center for Disease Control defines ACEs as traumatic events that can have negative, lasting effects on health and well-being, such as physical, emotional, or sexual abuse.\n\nACEs not only lead to lifelong negative effects for the children who experience them, but also creates a drain on businesses and taxpayers. Experts suggest that nationally, the total lifetime economic burden resulting from new cases of child abuse is approximately $124 billion. In addition, the negative experiences children face early in life can create a population that is less able to work consistently and productively. Children who have experienced four or more traumatic experiences are more than 30 times more likely to have a learning or behavior problem than their peers. However, more important than exposure to any specific event of this type is the accumulation of multiple adversities during childhood, which is associated with especially harmful effects on development.\n\nKids\u2019 Voice is in a unique position to prevent children from being victims of ACEs and help alleviate a drain on other Indiana resources, now and in the future.

The strategy for the Kids\u2019 Voice organization is to increase revenue in order to double the impact. The organization will manage expenses without sacrificing the positive impact on the health, basic needs, and education of children served by the three Programs of Kids\u2019 Voice of Indiana. The goal is to increase the number, diversity, and capacity of active GAL Program volunteers and Safe Child Parenting Time Program staff so the positive effects of Kids\u2019 Voice Programs on children\u2019s health, basic needs, and education are enhanced. Implement a plan for additional and/or alternative locations in order to serve an increasing number of children and their advocates. Kids\u2019 Voice will maintain the website with up-to-date information that is easy to navigate and access. \nStrategies for each program is as follows:\nBette J. Dick GAL for Kids Program: Increase funding through grants and events to provide additional staff support and increase the number and diversity of available volunteers, including volunteers who speak other languages in addition to English. Promptly close out existing, completed cases and keep accurate records for grant reports that accurately reflect the services provided. Develop new marketing materials to increase awareness of the program and to recruit volunteers to increase growth. Provide educational opportunities to GAL attorneys and educating judiciary and family law attorneys about the appropriate use of the Program. Continue training new board and staff members on recruiting and retention of volunteers and provide ongoing training for volunteers annually.\n\nSafe Child Parenting Time Program (SCPT): Train new staff to accommodate families in the SCPT Program and increase the number of families served. Accept new participants and conduct client intakes and keep accurate, complete records so the participants and Courts can be assured that appropriate services were provided. Fill available timeslots with children who need Program services to promote their health and safety. Seek additional funding to underwrite staff expenses and hardship cases and for attorney consultation with Program Manager and staff. \n\nThe Derelle Watson-Duvall Children\u2019s Law Center of Indiana Program (CLCI): Respond to inquiries from the public, child service providers, and attorneys. Revise the Kids\u2019 Voice website with legal resources and updates, including 100% of all case law updates and keep accurate records for grant reports. Continue research of legal topics for presentation, including topics for advanced audiences and legal ethics specific to CHINS, Termination, and Family Law. Continue to provide legal educational programs for child service professionals, judges, attorneys, and pro se litigants. Complete and distribute CHINS and Family Law Deskbook and updated CHINS and Termination of the Parent-Child Relationship Primers, including placing these publications on the Kids\u2019 Voice website. Provide web-based training on GAL and family law topic.

Kids\u2019 Voice of Indiana is committed to children\u2019s safety and freedom from domestic violence, the provision of accurate, complete evidence-based GAL reports to the Courts, diligent advocacy of children\u2019s best interests, and thorough, updated legal information for attorneys, child service professionals, and the community. The values governing the development of Kids\u2019 Voice of Indiana include honesty, transparency, expertise, and prompt response to community needs. \n\nKids\u2019 Voice has a 3-year strategic plan in place that goes from January 1, 2017, to January 1, 2020. This plan creates a plan for the organization as a whole, and a plan for each program in the organization.\n\nKids\u2019 Voice has an experienced, caring, mission driven staff of seven attorneys dedicated to the protection of at-risk children. The organization has a strong reputation for meeting the needs of the children, and there is a low turnover of staff. There is a continued demand for services by the courts and the community. Kids\u2019 Voice has well-developed relationships with the community and are working to increase our presence in the community through continued outreach and programs available to the general public. Kids\u2019 Voice has strong partnerships with various funders, such as United Way of Central Indiana, Lilly Endowment, and Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust. There is a committed and reliable volunteer base of over 300 community and pro bono attorney volunteers. Kids\u2019 Voice brings a high level of legal expertise to the children and families we serve in Indiana. The board is made up of professionals who are active participants and bring their expertise for oversight in the operation of the organization. \n\nKids\u2019 Voice is committed to supporting all of its programs. Kids\u2019 Voice will sustain these programs by funding from grant funders, special events and donations. Kids\u2019 Voice will continue to do sustainability and all objectives and outcomes will be continuously evaluated in terms of importance to program operations. Training and equipment purchased will continue to be used to sustain the programs in years to come. Kids\u2019 Voice will continue to evaluate expenses, looking for ways to reallocate resources to support operations. As Kids\u2019 Voice identifies the needs of our programs, it will identify resources to support those needs. This includes relying on the resources of its Board of Directors, funders, staff, and strategic partners, but is reviewed annually by the Board of Directors and quarterly by the Fund Development Committee.

Kids\u2019 Voice continued to see increased needs for services across all three of our programs during this period. In response to these needs, Kids\u2019 Voice targeted its efforts to take services into the community to reach more families and children. This outreach was done by adding additional staff members, enhancing outreach, and creating new projects under our existing programs. As a result of our efforts, Kids\u2019 Voice received additional grant support and donations, served more people, and is set up to continue to grow into 2018-2019.\nMany positive things happened during 2017-2018, \nincluding the following:\n\u2022 We were awarded the National Association of Social Workers\u2014Central Indiana Region \nCommunity Partner of the Year. \n\u2022 We celebrated the retirement of Kids\u2019 Voice co-founder and attorney, Derelle Watson-Duvall in April. Staff Attorney Katherine Meger Kelsey took over the reigns as the Director of the Kids\u2019 Voice\u2019s Children Law Center of Indiana.\n\u2022 We grew our staff to include additional staff attorneys, a paralegal, and a Volunteer and Outreach Coordinator. \n\u2022 We saw the implementation of the Parenting Coordination Clinic.\n\u2022 We received a grant from the Indianapolis Bar Association that allowed us to create the Mobile Law Clinic. \n\u2022 Our staff continued to be an integral part of many community efforts, to serve on community boards and to be recognized with awards.\n\u2022 We trained 42 new Guardian ad Litem volunteers for the Kids\u2019 Voice GAL Program.\n\u2022 We served over 3,100 people through our three programs.\n\u2022 We raised over $935,000 through fundraising events, donations, and grants.\n\nThe end of the current fiscal year also brought a unique staff change to Kids\u2019 Voice. As of July 1, 2018, attorney Lindsay Faulkenberg moved into the role of President and CEO, while the former President and CEO, Eddie Rivers, became Chief Development Officer. This strategic change will allow our staff to focus their talents where best suited and deepen our teamwork as we continue into the 2018 fiscal year. \n\nKids\u2019 Voice continues to work toward meeting its goals by increasing the number of GAL cases it is handling and utilizing the current staff attorneys to take on additional cases. The organization continues to recruit and train new GAL volunteers who will be assigned to these new cases.\n\nThe SCPT Program continues to grow by taking in new families. The program also has interpreters available for non-English-speaking persons and/or Deaf families. The SCPT has perfected its program to ensure the custodial and non-custodial parents do not have to interact and the children are safe and supervised at all times.\n\nThe Children\u2019s Law Center continues to develop informational material for the website and increase the number of trainings for legal professional that they do. The Law Center program has also launched three new community outreach programs: The Community Mobile Law Program, Parenting Coordination Clinic, and Guardianship Clinic.