Court is a scary place. Imagine being a child in the juvenile court system because of abuse or neglect. Seeing multiple different social workers and foster homes per year, plus constantly changing schools and doctors could be a struggle for anyone.
But one adult remains constant until a permanent placement is made. Southeast Nebraska CASA volunteers get to know children, look out for their best interests, and help figure out the best place for them to grow up. Because of CASA, these youngsters do better in school, and less than 10 percent re-enter the juvenile system, allowing them to get closure on a difficult ordeal.
Despite having only one staff member, 20 volunteers, and an extra volunteer board member as occasional IT support, Southeast Nebraska CASA embraced the challenge to expand from one to five counties. To ensure that county-specific donations, grants, and expenses could be tracked, executive director Wess Robotham requested a QuickBooks Premier donation from TechSoup.
With the donation, not only can he track finances more easily, he also saves time on budgeting, reporting, and thanking donors. Each county is reassured that funds will serve only its population, and as Wess delves deeper into QuickBooks, he is using its reports to make decisions that save funding.
Moreover, the board of Southeast Nebraska CASA appreciates being able to see reports created in QuickBooks that add more meaning beyond the fine detail of financial documents. The Southeast Nebraska CASA has already expanded to the next county and is moving ahead to expand farther and help more kids.