Advocates bounce back

Nearly two years ago, it looked like a North Idaho agency aimed at helping vulnerable children in court might not survive a crisis of its own.

In mid-2004, organizers of the local Court Appointed Special Advocates program faced news cameras and pointed questions about the sudden resignation of the agency’s executive director, Rhonda Naylor, amid allegations of financial mismanagement and embezzlement.

State and national grant providers suspended funding. Staff members lost their jobs. Vendors came calling, seeking payment for a copier and other equipment the program could not afford.

“We went through hell,” said Jim Elder, the CASA board member who is leading what he believes is a turnaround for the beleaguered nonprofit agency.

A new executive director, a reconfigured board and a strict financial accountability system – with three built-in checkpoints – are part of efforts to reassure wary donors that the organization that oversees more than 600 abused and neglected children is up to the task.

“We’re moving forward,” said Elder, a Coeur d’Alene civic leader who leveraged political clout, including local chamber of commerce endorsements and a favor from Gov. Dirk Kempthorne’s wife.

Patricia Kempthorne agreed to lend her name and image to an “Angels of CASA” fund-raising campaign for the agency, which trains volunteers to represent children in legal proceedings that often follow charges of neglect or abuse.

“I guess I never like to fail,” Elder said.

Still, questions about CASA’s past linger. Naylor allegedly mismanaged or misappropriated about $60,000, according to an independent audit of the agency’s 2004 financial records.

The former director allegedly overspent on programs and used an agency debit card for personal purchases, including nearly $300 for curtains at Fred Meyer, $95 for shoes and cosmetics at Nordstrom, and more than $220 for clothing at a CJ Banks store, the audit indicated.

No charges have been filed in connection with the alleged embezzlement. Naylor divorced her husband, Kootenai County court records showed. She reportedly changed her name and moved to an undisclosed location in Oregon, Elder said. CASA representatives consulted with federal officials, including the FBI, about possible criminal charges but decided not to pursue them on their own.

“It’s our hope that something happens, but we’re not pushing things,” said Hiedi Person, the executive director hired last year to run the agency.

Don Robinson, supervisor for the Coeur d’Alene FBI office, wouldn’t say if the agency is investigating Naylor. Robinson added, however, that mismanagement of public-generated funds is a high priority for the bureau. Any charges would be filed in U.S. District Court.

Even without legal action, Naylor’s departure sparked a retooling of CASA policies and procedures here and elsewhere in Idaho, organizers said.

“When something like this happens, it brings everybody up to the higher standard real fast,” said Tinka Schaffer, Coeur d’Alene-based president of the Idaho association of CASA programs.

At the local level, changes include a strict financial accounting system that sends monthly statements to three sources for review and requires detailed documentation of all expenses, Person said.

“I’m not authorized to sign checks,” she said.

At the state level, CASA no longer allows program directors to serve on the advisory board. Instead, qualified community volunteers are elected to provide advice and limited oversight without potential conflicts of interest.

“It had been moving toward that, but this helped speed up the process,” said Schaffer. “We have to have real healthy, clear boundaries here.”

Those improvements have helped restore support for the agency, whose budget has dipped to about $150,000 annually, down from nearly $250,000 in 2004. Support grants from the Idaho Law Foundation and the national CASA office have been reinstated, along with both agencies’ confidence in the program.

“We are just as happy as can be at the way the program has turned around,” said Michael Heaton of Sunriver, Ore., who supervises CASA in the Western United States.

Now, local CASA officials are hoping to expand that enthusiasm to the general public. So far it’s working, they said. Help has come in the form of financial contributions, such as a $35,000 donation from Coeur d’Alene contractor Dennis Cunningham. It’s also come via gestures of goodwill, such as Bryan Ogle’s pledge to participate in this year’s Coeur d’Alene Ironman triathlon in the name of CASA.

Ogle, chairman of the Coeur d’Alene Chamber of Commerce, is seeking pledges that could provide $10,000 to the agency through the Janus Charity Challenge, sponsored by his employer, Smith Barney, a financial services firm.

“I think CASA suffers from two things,” Ogle said. “They had this problem, which everybody knows about, and they suffer from people not having a real clear understanding of what CASA does.”

In general, the agency provides one-to-one support for children as they progress through the often convoluted legal system. Volunteers are trained to represent the children’s general interests inside the courtroom, and elsewhere, said Mary Lou Teyler of Coeur d’Alene, a certified CASA volunteer for more than three years.

“The question becomes, ‘What can I do to support this child?’ ” said Teyler, a retired school administrator. “It can be meeting with teachers and counselors, talking to therapists, making sure the child is getting physical and developmental needs met.”

In court, judges may use testimony from CASA volunteers to determine questions of custody or living arrangements.

In North Idaho, some 75 CASA volunteers are assigned to 612 children. About half of those cases are active, Person said. As long as the cases remain active, sometimes until a child turns 18, volunteers continue to monitor them, she said.

Maintaining those vital services has remained a priority, Elder said. At the height of the funding scandal, the agency was force to lay off staff members and move to a less-expensive office suite.

“We never missed a court case during that whole period,” he said.

That commitment pleased volunteers such as Teyler, who has seen firsthand that CASA involvement can change a child’s life. She tells the story of a 2-month-old boy abandoned by his mother. CASA officials helped find the boy’s father and provided support as the man learned to care for his son, now 3.

“To see the two of them together after him not being involved in his child’s life is something,” Teyler said. “It’s been wonderful. It has helped me feel like I have a purpose, like I’m doing something that means something.”