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SAMPLES:
CASE STATEMENTS
Although
each campaign has different needs and styles, the case
statement is such an important cornerstone to articulating
an organization's vision, resources and needs, it must
follow certain guidelines to be acceptable and persuasive
to grant makers.
The first few pages of the sample document of a case
statement below follow this customary format. The purpose
of this campaign is to raise funds to create a building
and programming for one of many national treatment centers
for children. Therefore this case statement is
a little more complex than some as it must state the
case for the concept of this type of treatment center
- which is a national consortium of agencies - as well
as lay out the benefit for children locally who live
in this particular city that is sponsoring the campaign.
Sample
Case Statement
|
Creating
a Safe Place to Treat Children
A
Capital Campaign to Create a (Name of Children's
Center) in _____ County,
(City, State)
| “...if
we are willing to open our eyes to
the suffering of the child, we will
soon realize that it lies within us
as adults either to turn the newborn
into monsters by the way we treat
them or let them grow up into feeling
- and therefore responsible - human
beings.”
Alice Miller, The Drama of the
Gifted Child |
Nature
of the problem:
A tragic problem exists in _____ County.
Children between the ages of birth and 17
are victims of child abuse every day at
the hands of those they trust and love.
They are beaten, tortured, burned, raped,
sodomized, molested and exploited.
The scope of child maltreatment includes
physical abuse, sexual abuse and neglect.
Children who witness violent crime also
suffer trauma. These are _____ County's
invisible, forgotten children.
The harming and suffering of children is
not a comfortable subject for either the
layman or the professional. Because so many
social, educational, medical and legal agencies
submit reports of maltreatment, it is difficult
at first glance to understand the extent
of a single child's suffering over time.
Children rarely endure only one instance
or form of abuse and neglect. Moreover,
not all cases are reported and not all reported
cases are handled expediently.
This is the story of an exciting new solution
to an age-old problem, already tested in
cities across the nation. The reasons
for a community to strengthen its resources
for addressing child maltreatment are to
ensure that victims are treated so they
might heal and become contributing members
of society. No one wants to see these
children grow up to become the statistics
of future crimes, either as victims or perpetrators.
While many civic leaders and child advocates
agree that more needs to be done, no one
agency can handle the challenge alone.
How authorities react following a report
of abuse affects the outcome of the case
and the future of the child. Failure
to properly investigate a report at the
onset can cause a child to be returned to
an unsafe home, removed from a safe home,
or held captive within the child welfare
system, without anyone having a clear understanding
or knowledge of the child's abuse history.
A case history:
Each child's story is as
unique as the personality and spirit of
that little child. Each deserves to
be acknowledged and addressed so the public
will understand that how competently we
manage the investigation and treatment of
abuse and neglect can no longer be ignored.
The case of (Name of child),
reported by (Name of investigator reporter)
in (Name of newspaper), demonstrates the
weaknesses in our current system.
| “When
(Name of child), 5, died in January
1998, his emaciated body was so battered
that a cause of death couldn't be
determined. Since 1991, various
people had made eight separate reports
to____ County DFACS alleging mistreatment
of (Name of child) and his siblings.
Still,( Name of child) remained in
the custody of his family. Criminal
charges were filed against (Name of
child)'s grandmother after an alleged
beating, but were dropped after a
DFACS caseworker failed to appear
in court. (Name of child)'s
grandmother, mother and the mother's
boyfriend have been charged in the
boy's death.”
(Name
of newspaper), “Sad Histories
Marked by Futile Complaints - (Name
of state)'s Forgotten Children,”
January 12, 2000, p. 6, by (Name of
reporter)
|
The need for a new solution in ______County
of responding to reports of child maltreatment:
At this time in _____ County, the response
system for coordinating expertise and services
is inefficient because the social service,
law enforcement and prosecution agencies
are all located in different areas of metropolitan
(Name of city). The need is to move
all these agencies to a single multidisciplinary
center where they will be “co-housed”
under one roof with space to carry out their
own tasks and to jointly manage the case
of each child.
The vision of this plan for an ideal response
system demands a programmatic overhaul in
case management of how frequently and efficiently
agencies respond to reports of maltreatment.
Guidelines and operating details are now
being worked out by participating agencies.
Because each agency has a different fact-finding
role and must ask the victims different
and difficult questions, it is critical
that the environment be conducive to a child
feeling comfortable enough to give the correct
facts about the case so that the investigation
move forward towards the proper treatment
of the child and prosecution of the abuser.
The child should not be questioned too often
and thereby forced to relive the experience
of the abuse any more than is absolutely
necessary. If these agencies can work
together in a way that each particular case
demands, it will ensure greater accuracy,
more successful outcomes and a better chance
for victims to not be traumatized further
and to heal. Everyone benefits –
immediately and long-term – the child,
the family, the community and the staff
of the varying agencies.
Evolution of idea for adapting
a national model for _________County:
The realization of the
need for a better way of handling and responding
to child abuse reports began to dawn after
young (Name of child)'s tragic death and
the subsequent launching of a criminal investigation.
At that time, many leaders in _____ County
began to feel uncomfortable with the process
and current level of operations. Additionally,
multiple gaps were identified in the systemic
design that continued to put young children
like (Name of child) at greater risk for
victimization.
As a result, in 1999, the
______ County District Attorney created
a Steering Committee to address and research
these problems. The Steering Committee
identified the (Name of children's center)
model as the best solution to improve the
county's handling of child abuse investigations,
prosecution, and provision of services.
There are over 400 established and developing
(Name of children's center) programs in
the United States today. These centers
have become essential parts of the communities
in which they reside and are embraced by
residents, corporations and philanthropic
organizations. They have raised the
awareness, prevention and intervention for
child victims of abuse and they are supported
by the ______Department of Justice and recommended
by the ______Office for Victims of Crime.
The solution to the need for a multidisciplinary
approach:
The solution providing the needed systemic
overhaul is not in the form of a single
government agency but a not-for-profit organization
that participates in a private-public partnership
with multiple ______ County and City of
(Name of city) public and private agencies
serving child victims of abuse. It
will be named the (Name of children's center)
of______ County. This new facility
will be the needed co-housed child victim
center, designed and constructed from the
model of the (Name of children's center)
now used across the country, including large
metropolitan areas like (Name of city) and
(Name of city). This new approach in how
the community responds to the thousands
of children and families each day brings
hope to ________ County. There will
be new players on the field of children's
advocacy, with new ideas for adapting this
national model to ______ County's specific
needs.
The purpose and function of the (Name of
Children's Center) in-----County:
The (Name of children's center)'s philosophy
is that child abuse is a community problem
and no single agency can ensure the safety
of the child. Children who have been
abused or neglected are at an increased
risk for acting out the ill effects of their
abuse in delinquency, adult criminality
and violent criminal behavior as well as
other problems including teen pregnancy,
prostitution, substance abuse, depression,
truancy, educational failure, physical health
risks and suicide.
The (Name of children's center) in _____
County will be designed to provide an environment
in which the realization of coordinated,
multi-disciplinary investigations of child
maltreatment reports can take place.
Set in a safe, inviting and friendly “Little
House” atmosphere with adjoining and
shared workspace, the (Name of children's
center) will provide child victims and their
families a centralized, comfortable, non-threatening
facility for joint investigative interviews,
crisis intervention, therapeutic assessments
and treatment, case tracking, interagency
case reviews, case management, and victim
services. Victim Services will include
care and supervision, emergency relief,
court school, food, clothing, toiletries,
court accompaniment, transportation assistance,
supervised visitations, service referral,
follow-up, and other assistance as needed.
The co-housing structure benefits professionals
as well as children by allowing a body of
experts in child development, trauma, medicine,
treatment, and forensic interviewing to
work alongside front line investigators
and social workers to strengthen their skills
in helping child abuse victims. It
is a way to create a new culture and cross
training for developing positive relationships
and outcomes that exceed the capabilities
of previous models and programs in _____
County.
No single professional should make a decision
about the life of a child when there can
be multiple disciplines and expertise at
the table. This new model for the
treatment of child abuse and neglect creates
a place that is accessible and easily identifiable
to the public and located in an area in
(Name of city) already designated to serving
children in a legal capacity.
| “The
_____ County (Name of children's center)
should be a ‘One Stop Shop’
that provides centralized processing
and tracking of child abuse reports
for the facilitation of information
sharing among agencies. The______
County (Name of children's center)
and Multidisciplinary Team should
conduct on-site investigations in
a manner that will not cause child
victims to be traumatized further.
Intervention should be done at the
Center as quickly and efficiently
as possible to address the immediate
and long-term treatment and healing
needs of each child.”
The Honorable (Name of Judge),
Chief Judge of_____ County Juvenile
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