Kosciusko Superior Court 4 Judge Chris Kehler speaks to the Kosciusko County Commissioners on Tuesday, Oct. 25, at the Kosciusko County Courthouse’s Old Courtroom. InkFreeNews photo by Leah Sander.

By Leah Sander
InkFreeNews

WARSAW — More kids whose parents are going through custody cases in Kosciusko County may soon have help from special attorneys.

At their meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 25, the Kosciusko County Commissioners approved a request from Kosciusko Superior Court 4 Judge Chris Kehler to apply for a $72,000 grant.

The grant would cover the cost of salaries of the attorneys, with each one known as a guardian ad litem. They’re “similar to a CASA (court appointed special advocate),” said Kehler. “They are attorneys who are appointed by the court to assist in mostly high conflict custody cases, parenting time cases involving families who do not have … the funds to hire their own GAL.”

Kehler said he is seeking the grant after consulting with local attorneys regarding the amount of time devoted to such cases. That would pay for two GALs a month, he said, which he admitted was “conservative,” but stems from figures in his court.

“In 2021 in Superior 4, we had 166 pending DC cases, divorce with children, and 1,511 pending JP cases, those are children of parents who were not married,” he said. “I appointed 4 GALs out of all those cases because only four families could afford it.”

“In 2022 through the end of September, we had a total of 1,841 cases. I had appointed six GALs,” said Kehler.

“You’ve got a need and there’s a remedy for it,” said Commissioner Bob Conley.

The commissioners approved his applying for the grant, 3-0.

Justice Center Equipment

Commissioners also approved allowing Kosciusko Circuit Court Judge Michael Reed to apply for a reimbursable grant up to $50,000 for a court check-in information system.

That would be “basically TV monitors and then the software that supports that for all the courts to have their cases up on the big screens to hopefully assist people to get where they’re supposed to go,” said Reed.

Commissioners also approved that request, 3-0.

In other business, commissioners:

• Approved supporting the Syracuse-Wawasee Trail Committee in their applying for a K21 Health Foundation grant related to their trail system.
• Approved a memorandum of understanding with Warsaw to put microwave equipment on a Warsaw radio tower as part of the county’s public safety tower communications project. “This would support the county’s 911 data link from dispatch to the central tower site,” said Kosciusko County Administrator Marsha McSherry.
• Approved an agreement between the Kosciusko County Convention, Recreation and Visitor Commission and county government for Kosciusko County Auditor Michelle Puckett to be controller and secretary for the KCCRVC.
• Approved an agreement between county government and the Kosciusko County Solid Waste Management District for Puckett to be the controller for the district.
• Approved 3-0 rezoning from agricultural to residential 7.11 acres of land along McKenna Road southwest of Irish Lake at the request of developers Kyle Coleman, Scott Marker and Scott Saylor with Emerald Pointe Development LLC. The Kosciusko County Area Plan Commission unanimously recommended the rezoning to the commissioners.

The commissioners’ next meeting is 9 a.m. Monday, Nov. 7, at the Kosciusko County Courthouse’s Old Courtroom. It’s one day earlier than usual, so the meeting does not fall on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 8.