A one million dollar state program that uses volunteers to help neglected and abused kids will be closed down. The “Court-Appointed Special Advocate” program will end January 3rd, a victim of the budget cuts ordered in the state’s judicial branch. Chris Boynken, a volunteer in Cerro Gordo and Floyd counties, says she and the other adult volunteers in the “CASA” program are stunned. She says the volunteer so their services won’t cost anything. Boynken says they’ve written lots of letters to legislators trying to get the program paid for in another way.Thirty-three paid coordinators and support staff who run the program will be laid off. Boynken says the “CASA” volunteers help some of the neediest Iowa kids. Boynken and other “CASA” volunteers plan to hold a rally at the Statehouse tomorrow, when legislators meet there in “special session.”
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