During Child Abuse Prevention Month this April CASA programs across Texas will host events, reach out to local media, ramp up grassroots recruitment efforts and more, with the goal of informing the community about child abuse and neglect and the urgent need for more volunteers. Did you know that in 2023 alone, more than 58,000 children were confirmed by the Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) to be victims of abuse or neglect? No child deserves to experience harm, or to be torn away from everything they know and placed in foster care. So, how can you help?
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2023 Texas CASA Impact Report
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We are excited to announce that Texas CASA’s 2023 Impact Report is now available! This report highlights how Texas CASA works to connect the CASA network and statewide partners to proactively work toward our shared vision of a safe and positive future for all Texas children and families. The work we do wouldn’t be possible without our dedicated supporters like you. If you want to continue to make an impact for Texas CASA, tune in during our Foster Care Month campaign in May to learn how you can help.
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Kristy Smith, CASA Volunteer and Senior Grants Management Specialist
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"I was introduced to the CASA mission when I worked with at-risk youth before moving back to Texas and became even more familiar when I worked with Child Protective Services supervising family visits in 2018. With my background in child welfare/public service, I always knew I wanted to become a CASA volunteer. In November 2022 I officially became a CASA volunteer, only a few short months after I began working for Texas CASA," said Kristy Smith, our March staff spotlight.
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Unlocking the Recruitment Code at the 2024 Volunteer Power Unleashed Summit
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On the morning of February 28, 2024 more than 100 CASA recruiters, volunteers and staff became detectives and set out on the ultimate two-day challenge: improve volunteer recruitment. Not only did attendees create plans to achieve this, but they also shared a multitude of ideas on creative recruitment, how to effectively make first contact with potential volunteers, how to use volunteers as sources for recruiting and much more.
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Child Advocates of Montgomery County Recognized as TBRI® Ambassador
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We are excited to share that the local CASA program Child Advocates of Montgomery County was recently inducted as a Trust-Based Relational Intervention (TBRI®) Ambassador Organization by TCU’s Karyn Purvis Institute of Child Development (KPICD). The organization currently utilizes TBRI® in many ways such as having TBRI® practitioners on staff; providing TBRI® training to the community and offering TBRI® coaching to parents and caregivers involved in the foster care system.
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The Fix Featuring Carol Self of Casey Family Programs
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On this episode of The Fix, Public Policy Director Carol Self of Casey Family Programs discusses Community-Based Care (CBC), the new Texas foster care model that delegates the roles previously held by Child Protective Services (CPS) to contractors. Self explains why Texas originally adopted the CBC model and where the state currently stands in its three-phase plan to rollout the program across twelve regions.
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Additional Information of Interest |
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New CASA on the Go Podcast on Cultivating Resilience
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| 2023 Kids Count Data Book: State Trends in Child Well-Being
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| Winter Edition of the Family Justice Journal
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