The Amy Schultz Child Advocacy Center in Mt. Vernon has received a $210,000, three-year grant that will allow the organization to expand mental health services for children and families in its seven-county service area.
Executive Director Michaele Wharton said the funding marks a major step forward for the center, which has historically had to refer clients to outside providers for mental health care.
“That will help us increase our services,” Wharton said. “In 36 years, we’ve never been able to have an in-house therapist. It will just allow us to be able to offer more holistic services all around.”
Wharton said the grant will make it possible for the center to hire its first in-house mental health professional, something staff have long hoped to achieve. The position is currently being advertised. The funding is coming through the St. Clare Foundation, which is supporting multiple area nonprofit organizations and schools working to address mental health needs.
Wharton said the center continues to see a steady volume of sexual assault and abuse cases across its seven-county region, which includes Marion, Jefferson, Washington, Wayne, Hamilton, and Clay counties.
“The cases are manageable,” Wharton said. “I will say the new intakes are going up, but the case load is remaining manageable because of the partnership with our multidisciplinary teams.”
She said coordination with law enforcement, prosecutors, and child protection agencies has helped improve response times and allow cases to be handled more efficiently than in the past.