News and updates for CASA program staff and leadership

NEWS

Registration Now Open for Upcoming VPU Summit!

Join us for an opportunity to learn, network and compete with your fellow recruiters at the 2024 Volunteer Power Unleashed Summit: Unlocking the Recruitment Code. This year’s Summit will focus on the journey of a volunteer, while also diving into data to learn how we can use it to build growth across the CASA network. The event will be held February 28-29 in San Antonio. The cost is $50 per person and anyone in your program involved in recruiting volunteers is encouraged to attend (4 per program max).

EVENTS & TRAINING

Strengthening Core Advocacy Training Reminder

The course Strengthening Core Advocacy: Centering Well-Being and Belonging for Children and Parents (SCA) is available for programs looking to learn about spotting bias and inequity in the child welfare system. CASA volunteers regularly advocate for children, parents and families who have a wide array of lived experiences and SCA offers an opportunity to learn about their specialized needs. This 3-hour course is a great way to gain understanding about bias within the system and earn in-service hours as well!

Access Training

Upcoming CFE Community Calls

The Texas CASA Collaborative Family Engagement (CFE) team is excited to invite you to three upcoming networking opportunities. The CFE Community Calls are for those involved in implementing CFE to come together and share ideas, strategies and learnings -- strengthening our statewide CFE community! We hope you will join us as we connect with those doing the work across the state. Save the Zoom link below and mark your calendars for the next three calls.

Zoom Link

RESOURCES

CFE Tools App - Tell Your Friends!

The CFE Tools App: Providing an engaging way for tools to be completed while meeting people where they are at - often on their phones. We launched the CFE Tools App a little over a year ago and have 900+ users in the state of Texas! Help us reach our goal of 1000+ users by the end of 2023. The app is intended to provide another option for members of the CFE Team to complete engagement tools in-person with young people in foster care, and/or with their parents, family members, caregivers or others.

Recruitment Bounty: Tip of the Month

Many employers offer paid time off each month for employees to volunteer. Have you researched them in your area? We encourage you to make a flier to send to the HR department of employers you find who offer this benefit to hand out to their employees. Check out this handout that CASA of Central Texas sent to multiple state agencies who have employees in their area. Contact the Texas CASA Recruitment Team if you need help getting started on a flier or brainstorming ideas.

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Understanding the Roles in a CPS Case

Earlier this year, Texas CASA partnered with the Supreme Court of Texas Children’s Commission to develop five handouts and accompanying videos -- which help explain the role of each of the professionals in a Child Protective Services (CPS) case. These videos are for individuals such as parents, children, kinship caregivers, etc. who are involved with the child welfare system in some way. The handouts are available for download in English and Spanish, and the videos are available publicly on YouTube.