Registration Opens Aug. 13 for the Texas CASA Conference

Join us for our 3-day Texas CASA Conference in Galveston on October 23-25. This year’s theme All Aboard: Mapping Uncharted Waters focuses on how we can learn to ride the waves of the changing child welfare system and provide the best advocacy for children and families. Registration is $400 per person and opens August 13 and closes September 20. Lodging is $169 per night plus tax. An overview of the conference schedule is now available on the website, along with other details.

DFPS Policy Updates

DFPS’s Child Protective Services (CPS) and Child Protective Investigations (CPI) programs updated their shared policy handbook. The changes address several topics including notification of a report involving a child in DFPS conservatorship, communication between stages when new intake involves same principal, transferring a case from Alternative Response or Investigation to Family-Based Safety Services and more. Access the CPS and CPI revision memos and learn more in the link below.

Texas CASA RFP: TBRI® Training & Implementation Provider

Trauma affects how children who have been abused and neglected see themselves, the world and relationships. Understanding trauma impacts how Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) recognize a child and family’s needs and partner with them on needed services and resources. If you have expertise in Trust Based Relational Interventions (TBRI) ® with application for CASA advocacy, please review the posting in the link below and submit a proposal.

Encouraging Youth to Engage in Connection Tools: CFE Webinar

Are you advocating for an older youth in foster care who seems reluctant to utilize the CFE connection tools available? Do you struggle to decide which CFE tools might be best utilized with older youth? Please join us on August 20 from 12:00-1:00 p.m. This webinar will explore the tools that may be more effective when working with a youth to build their network. You will hear from local programs and youth who have experienced foster care as they discuss which tools they found to be successful and strategies for engaging youth with the CFE tools.

Upcoming STAR Zoom on Nonviolent Communication

Join us on July 29 from 12:00 - 1:00 p.m. for this month's STAR Zoom on Nonviolent Communication presented by Diana Aslin, Executive Director of CASA Hope for Children in Weatherford. Nonviolent Communication (NVC) was developed by Dr. Marshall B. Rosenburg and it is a communication style based on the principle of compassion and not inflicting harm. NVC is a two-part process that consists of authentically expressing ourselves while actively listening with an empathic ear. 

Recruitment Bounty: Tip of the Month

Team up with local restaurants to distribute coasters with your program information and a QR code to your website. Coasters are a cost-effective and easy way to reach a lot of people in your community and can be ordered and printed from most online or local promotional shops. Check out this example from CASA of Bee, Live Oak and McMullen Counties.

Parent Resource Guide & Support Groups

The Children’s Commission’s Parent Resource Guide is a handbook designed specifically for parents to help them understand the Texas child welfare system and the path towards reunification. Also, the Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) maintains Parent Collaboration Groups that support parents on the path to reunification and function as a link between parents and the agency. A list of local Parent Collaboration Groups can be found on the DFPS website. Reunified parents who wish to volunteer with a group can contact their regional SSCC/CPS liaison for more information.

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