By Christy Avery | News and Tribune | May 8, 2026

JEFFERSONVILLE — Southern Indiana social services advocates packed backpacks Thursday morning for children experiencing the foster care system.

As part of a nationwide tour to share its mission, Comfort Cases, a Maryland-based nonprofit, visited Community Action of Southern Indiana to help volunteers fill bags with essential supplies and comfort items youth can benefit from as they move through foster homes. The organization aims to bring dignity to children in foster care by providing alternatives to the typical trash bag used to move personal belongings out of their homes.

“Every child deserves to know there’s someone rooting them on,” Comfort Cases Founder Dr. Rob Scheer told the group. “Every child deserves to know what it feels like to be loved unconditionally.”

May is National Foster Care Month, a time to raise awareness about the needs and welfare of foster parents and children.

Clark Circuit 4 Judge Lisa Reger, Clark Circuit 3 Judge Lisa Glickfield and Jeffersonville councilman Evan Stoner were among the group of about 35 volunteers who participated in the morning of packing.

In an assembly-line style, they moved through tables full of various items such as menstrual products, blankets, books and soft toys to stuff a total of 225 backpacks, which will be delivered to children to give them a sense of pride and individuality. They also packed 50 Comfort XL duffel bags, which many children receive alongside a Comfort Case.

As they listened to “Pretty Woman,” “I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)” and other upbeat tunes, the group managed to fill all of the backpacks in about 15 minutes.

Scheer encouraged volunteers to hug the stuffed animals before placing them in the backpacks and to think about the meaning of the quote written on cards placed inside: “You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem and smarter than you think.”

He founded Comfort Cases in 2013, inspired by his own history in the foster care system and the experiences of his five children, all of whom Scheer and his husband adopted. Sitting in his office 14 years ago, he said, he was reflecting on the privileges he and his husband had given their children since adopting them, and wanted to find a way to continue on that legacy to those still waiting on a forever home.

“It’s a full-circle moment,” he said.

When their children arrived at their home, he said, not one of them had their own blanket or toothbrush, despite some of them having gone through multiple prior placements. When children move in with foster parents, they often feel at first as though they’re moving in with strangers, Scheer said, so they deserve to have items of their very own to ease the discomfort.

“There’s no reason why my daughter didn’t have any of that stuff, or my baby,” he said. “But it happens, and so what we want to do is give all of those things to not only give comfort to a child in foster care but also to support the foster parents. Kids come in at all hours of the night, and not everyone’s prepared to have that toothbrush or that brand-new pair of pajamas.”

He added he is preparing to meet with Indiana legislators to try to pass a bill banning the use of trash bags to transport children’s belongings, requiring foster agencies to provide suitcases, duffel bags or backpacks. Often called a “foster care luggage law,” similar legislation co-written by Scheer has been passed in Maryland, New York, North Carolina, Virginia and Colorado.

Scheer said his organization has been partnering with Indiana organizations since 2018, providing 1,000 cases each year through its partnership with the state’s branch of Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield.

Sarah Baumgartner is a behavioral health clinical case manager at Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Indiana. She is also a Department of Child Services liaison, helping to coordinate Medicaid for youth in foster care throughout the state. She estimated there are approximately 14,000 Hoosier children in foster care, and 400,000 nationwide.

Baumgartner said while children in the foster care system are typically first in need of foundational resources like transportation, respite care, help obtaining paperwork and counseling, having items that enrich their lives and bring them joy is equally important to the all-around wellbeing of a child.

As kids in the system experience so much transition, Baumgartner said, they should not have to go into new homes or spaces with a used backpack or items that don’t fit their personalities.

“A lot of these get lost in the shuffle, and that’s what’s so special about this charity is that they focus on the whole person,” she said. “Focusing on them feeling special and seen and like they have some things that are just for them. They can feel like any other child out there that has their own stuffed animal or a new backpack.”

After packing her bags, Glickfield spoke about why she decided to attend the event. In Clark Circuit Court 3, Glickfield deals with community behavioral health services and many cases involving the foster care system.

She said her own mother also went through the system as a child, and hearing about her experience has pushed Glickfield to fight for the wellbeing of foster youth.

One area in Indiana where she sees room for improvement is in connecting the social services organizations to build a better foundation of care. While many programs exist to support children in foster care, Glickfield said they often operate in silos, and she is working with them to find ways to fill the gaps.

A way to do that, she said, is to create more outpatient mental health programs that will allow people in need of mental health care to be rehabilitated, which she pointed out could help more children stay with their parents.

“We’re not connecting so that there’s a transfer from one level of care to the next level of care. If we can connect adults to have sustained stability, that will translate to the entire family,” she said.