Wednesday, January 6, 2010

It's a dead end for plans to provide better services for local abused children.

The Child Advocacy Center was hoping Sedgwick County Commissioners would provide funding to build one central location. But those hopes were dashed, and now the center's leaders are forced to start all over again.

"We're kind of left in a little bit of a state of limbo right now," said Child Advocacy Center Director Diana Schunn.

The center was hoping to move out of the cramped Finney State Office Building and into a larger place. The purpose was to bring multiple agencies under one roof to streamline services for the 2,500abused children they work with every year.

"We can't ignore the fact that the Child Advocacy Center need space and it needs funding and that the children should be a priority for all of us," said County Commissioner Gwen Welshimer.

Yet Commissioners Welshimer, Kelly Parks and Karl Peterjohn refused to fund the nearly $900,000 needed. They say it shouldn't be all up to the county because Wichita kids make up a bulk of the cases. They instead vote to pay for about a third of the cost, but only if the city and state also pitch in.

"I think this gives an opportunity for other players to stand up," said Commissioner Parks.

The problem is those other potential players have already decided not to pay. That means the center will end up with nothing. Commissioners Dave Unruh and Tim Norton were upset with the outcome.

"Child abuse, children in need of care and internet crimes against children. All of those are proliferating in our community and we can stand with a blind eye and say the city needs to take care of it and the state needs to take care of it," said Norton.

Schunn says the center will still move forward with trying to find more money to fulfill it's mission. Just how they will do so, though, she's not sure.