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In collaboration with the Berks County Community Foundation, which administers the Bridge Fund, the Law Foundation provides for one-half of the funding. The concept of the Bridge Fund is that “a little can go a long way to keep a kid out of the legal system.” Grants from the Bridge Fund are recommended by social workers or agents of the court system and are approved by a judge on a case-by-case basis. The fund is not meant to provide continual support but rather to bridge a gap in service and keep a child out of the legal system.

For example, a single father was worried about losing his three-, four- and six-year-old daughters to foster care. Each night, he dropped the girls off at the Second Street Learning Center while he worked full-time on the graveyard shift. While he could pay for their overnight care, he could not afford the extra payments that would allow the girls to stay at the center until noon so he could sleep. After an application was submitted by his social worker, a $300 grant was awarded that provided five weeks of childcare and allowed the girls to stay together with their father. The Bridge Fund has also helped several families stay together during the winter months after they exhausted all other funding aid programs for free or low-cost heating oil. In most cases, the families were again eligible for free oil after a waiting period. The Bridge Fund provided oil during the waiting period, allowing the children to remain in their parents’ care because their homes had heat.

The Court Appointed Special Advocate Program (CASA), a service of Opportunity House, receives funding from the Law Foundation of Berks County. Its mission is to provide advocacy to children who are in the custody of the court system as a result of abuse and/or neglect. The CASA Program works to find a safe and permanent placement for all children involved in the program.

Specially trained CASA volunteers are appointed by a judge to represent the best interests of a child in court. Volunteers work closely with the child and the family members, caseworkers, teachers, health officials, and others who are knowledgeable about the child’s history. Volunteers study each case and make recommendations to the court to help the child be placed in a safe and permanent home as quickly as possible.

Currently, a number of CASA volunteers, who are not lawyers, are serving as the voice in court for local children who have been abused or neglected.

Each year, the Law Foundation purchases a new book for each kindergarten and pre-kindergarten student in the Reading School District. Contributions from our community lawyers and supporters makes this program possible. In the spring, books are sent to classrooms throughout Reading. Bar Association members, staff and community members volunteer to read in each kindergarten and pre-kindergarten class before students take home the selected book. Our goal is to encourage a life-long love of reading and ensure that every student has a book they can read at home with their parents, caregivers and siblings. Plus, we know that these young readers will grow up to be our future leaders.