Funding cuts are putting dozens of youths in Marin foster care and the juvenile justice system at risk of losing services from volunteer court-appointed special advocates.

Sherene Chen, chief executive of Marin CASA, said the San Rafael agency is waiting to see if the Legislature will continue an annual $250,000 grant to the program. The state funding represents about 29% of the agency’s $778,988 annual budget, Chen said.

“I don’t anticipate that we would have layoffs,” said Chen, whose organization has seven full- and part-time staff members. “We do have some reserves, but we want to be able to continue to serve all the children who need our help.”

Marin already lost $128,500 in federal funding earlier this year, and Marin County cut $15,000 in subsidies, Chen said.

On Wednesday, the group was notified that it also will lose $11,456 because of the U.S. Department of Justice’s decision to terminate all awards to the national court-appointed special advocates network.

The network, officially called the National Court Appointed Special Advocate/Guardian ad Litem Association for Children, sent out emails Thursday calling for all CASA agencies to contact their representatives in Congress about the cuts.

On the state level, Chen and her agency hope that a March 3 letter to budget committee members from Assemblymember Mia Bonta, and co-signed by Marin Assemblymember Damon Connolly, will preserve about $20 million in funding for 44 CASA agencies statewide, including Marin.

“While we know the Legislature and the governor must make some tough budget decisions, we also are confident that these decisions cannot come at the expense of our most vulnerable children — those living in foster care because of abuse or neglect,” said Bonta, who represents the 18th District.

“Youth in foster care are the most vulnerable of our state’s citizens, and we are committed to giving them the services and support they need to thrive,” Bonta said.

Connolly, who represents all of Marin and part of Sonoma County, visited with Marin CASA staff, volunteers and board members earlier this month. Connolly has announced he will be vacating his District 12 Assembly seat to run for the District 2 state Senate seat held by Senate Pro Tem Mike McGuire. McGuire will be termed out in 2027.

Connolly told Marin CASA staff and volunteers that he will continue to support them.

“I proudly signed onto the budget letter, so we’ll keep that in mind,” Connolly told the group. “I’m on the budget committee.”

He is also supporting bills such as AB 419, which is designed to help immigrant children and families understand their protections under the law by mandating that the legal rights information be posted at all schools.

“If you have a particular interest in one or more bills, that we need to be aware of, let us know,” Connolly told the group. “And of course — the budget.”

Chen said she expects to hear more about the state budget in May and June.

She also is reaching out to local donors to see if they could provide additional grants. The agency’s annual fundraiser is set for Sept. 20 at the Marin Art and Garden Center in Ross. Connolly is expected to be honored at the event for his support.

Elizabeth McGrady, a CASA volunteer for the last four years, said she hopes any budget cuts will not affect training and supervision of CASAs and their cases.

Each of the 80 or so adult volunteers requires at least 36 hours of training. In addition to training volunteers, staff members supervise dozens of youth clients as they move through the legal system.

It’s sad that their work could be compromised by budget cuts, said McGrady, a Fairfax resident.

“It’s awful,” she said. “It puts stress on people who already have very stressful jobs to begin with. The thought of having funding removed, and possibly losing staff, and losing the ability to effectively train us and supervise us, must be very scary.”

McGrady, a former preschool director, said she has had three cases so far in her Marin CASA volunteer work since she retired four years ago. The job usually involves about 12 hours per month, she said.

“All three of my cases were children who were 2 years old,” she said. “Their parents were unable to parent because of drugs.”

She said children of any age need the support of a CASA.

“You can receive a child who is 6 months old,” McGrady said. “That child is then going to be in the court system and needs a volunteer, who is not paid, to look after and advocate for them so that their best interests are always kept in the forefront of the judge in the court system.”

Of McGrady’s three cases, one child was adopted by foster parents, a second child was taken in by a grandparent under a guardianship and a third child was returned to the mother after drug treatment services were successful.

“This is probably the most rewarding thing I’ve ever done, besides being a parent myself,” McGrady said. “It really feels like you’re making a difference in one person’s life, and that’s amazing. How often can one person make a difference in a complete stranger’s life?”