The San Benito County Board of Supervisors will decide today if
they will add more than $30,000 in funding to Chamberlain’s
Children Center to cover an increased need for emergency shelter
for abused and neglected local children.
Hollister – The San Benito County Board of Supervisors will decide today if they will add more than $30,000 in funding to Chamberlain’s Children Center to cover an increased need for emergency shelter for abused and neglected local children.
If the board approves two augmentations to its current funding plans for the nonprofit organization this morning, Chamberlain’s will have received about $88,000 this from the county by July 1 to operate the only facility of its kind in San Benito County. Chamberlain’s provides social, mental health and educational services for severely behaviorally disturbed children in San Benito County who have been victims of the worst forms of physical and mental abuse and neglect.
The money would help fund family counseling and parent education programs for the children’s center, as well as allow the organization to house and care for more children.
On Jan. 11, the board of supervisors had approved about $55,000 in state Child Abuse Prevention, Intervention and Treatment and Cal Works Incentive funding for Chamberlain’s, but based on current projections the center will need more money than expected to make it through the last month and a half of the fiscal year, which runs from July 1-June 30 of each year.
“We’re basing the projected year cost on what the activity has been to date,” explained Interim Health and Human Services Director Kathy Flores. “So if you use X amount of dollars in six months, then you assume you’ll use the same over the next six months.”
So far this year, the county has seen an increase in the number of abused or neglected children it sends to Chamberlain’s, she added.
Current statistics show San Benito County sends 7.2 children to Chamberlain’s every month, where the average stay is one week but can last up to 29 days.The additional funds for Chamberlain’s that will be voted on today would come from state Child Abuse Prevention, Intervention and Treatment and Cal Works funds. Approving the expenditure would not add to the county’s expected $4.8 million budget deficit next year. Chamberlain’s is also busy starting efforts to find funding for another project, according to the organization’s Acting Chief Executive Officer Doreen Crumrine. The center has teamed up with Leadership San Benito County to begin fundraising for a new on-site playground for the children.
While Chamberlain’s has a small playground already, its play-equipment is limited to a few swings, slides and climbing structures, and there’s no area for organized sports like baseball or soccer, Crumrine said.
“We had a vision of the playground and how it should be developed out for five or six years now but haven’t actually started it, and because of state funding cuts we haven’t been able to realize our vision,” Crumrine said. “We want a place where the kids can have organized activities, we want to expand the play equipment currently there. Because of these kids’ emotional problems, safety is a big concern, so we want somewhere where they can play and interact safely like every other kid.”
Anyone interested in helping with fundraising for the playground can contact Crumrine at 636-2121 or Leadership San Benito Class Project Co-chairs Dennis Reeves at 630-9438 and Kim Cabutage at 630-2491.
Jessica Quandt covers politics for the Free Lance. Reach her at 831-637-5566 ext. 330 or at jq*****@fr***********.com.
