January is a busy time for staff at Douglas C.A.R.E.S. in Roseburg.
The children's advocacy center provides medical examinations, therapy and other support for abused minors.
Executive director Sarah Wickersham said the holidays bring an uptick in cases. She was execpting about 45 new clients this month, on top of the usual caseload. Staff treat around 600 children per year.
But this January, Douglas C.A.R.E.S. closed its doors. The organization is facing drops in private and state funding, as well as a mix-up with its complicated insurance billing system.
There are around two dozen children's advocacy centers across Oregon. While each organization faces a unique financial situation, Wickersham said, there’s a level of shared concern about the future.
“All of us are worried, and all of us are thinking about how to reduce staff, double up on jobs and try to meet these new challenges so that we can still care for the kids in our community without going under,” she said.
This year C.A.R.E.S received less than half of the funds it received last year from a Federal Victims of Crime, or VOCA, grant.
“That fund has been dwindling for a long time,” Wickersham said.
But Oregon is ineligible to receive those federal funds due to the state's sanctuary law.
Wickersham said private foundation giving has also decreased.
“They're kind of winding down their operations, and others are seeing a lot more pressure to try and backfill these gaps in federal dollars and state dollars,” Wickersham said.
A little over half of the nonprofit's funding comes from billing insurance for its services. But a company C.A.R.E.S. hired to process claims used incorrect billing codes, resulting in months of care without payment.
Recent changes to Medicaid have not affected the center yet, but Wickersham said they would likely result in another hit to the bottom line.
“I'm seeing the writing on the wall that we have to change our funding structure in order to move forward,” she said.
Wickersham said finding a solution is imperative because of the center’s unique role in child abuse investigations. C.A.R.E.S. delivers services in a centralized space, so victims aren’t required to visit multiple facilities and repeat allegations to a chain of specialists and law enforcement.
Wickersham knows how important those services are because she was the victim of prolonged abuse as a child.
“If I had had a center who intervened… I would have learned much earlier that I deserve to be treated with kindness and dignity,” she said. “It wouldn't have taken me 40 years to become successful and to find a real relationship and real love.”
She said the center's staff, which includes in-house mental health professionals, is built around delivering long-term care for victims.
“We see kids graduate high school. We see them go on to college,” she said. “We will rebuild lives.”
The organization is exploring other funding sources to reopen in February. Options include direct funding from law enforcement or a partnership with a hospital.
But Wickersham said the future is uncertain without community support.
“I have faith that our community is going to step forward.”
