Opportunities for Continued Education
After completing a year of service as a CASA volunteer at CASA of Jefferson & Gilpin Counties, you are required to complete 12 hours of In-Service Training or “Continued Education”. These hours are achieved by attending webinars, guest speaking events, and reading books on the topics of childhood trauma and the child-welfare system. Quarterly Continued Education events are hosted by CASA Jeffco/Gilpin. See below for more ideas and event details!
Volunteers are responsible for keeping track of their own Continued Education hours via Optima under the “training” tab.
April 17 @ 11:30 am – 12:30 pm
Lunch & Learn: Checking in 1 year later: CFY, GALs, and CASA Panel hosted by Colorado CASA
Come and hear from Ashley Chase, staff attorney and legislative liaison for the Office of the Child’s Representative (OCR) about how Counsel for Youth (CFY) is going one year after it began. Ashley will address overall observations and then get to frequently asked questions, such as how CFY impacts educational surrogate parent decisions, LAN privilege, and more.
May 15 @ 11:30 am – 12:30 pm
Lunch & Learn: Supporting Caregivers hosted by Colorado CASA
Everyday, 12 children enter the Colorado foster care system. Children in foster care need more than love; they need to heal from trauma. Foster and kinship parents who are prepared and supported to nurture these children can help foster youth heal and navigate the uncertainty of being in foster care. Unfortunately, 70% of foster parents will quit within the first two years, potentially causing further hardship in the lives of foster youth. With the Family First Prevention Services Act, youth will be placed with kinship caregivers who are often unprepared and unsupported in their new role. Strengthening Colorado foster and kinship communities through stabilizing and supporting the caregiver is critical to the well-being of our child welfare youth. Equity for kinship families, anti-racist practice for foster and kinship youth and caregivers, elevating foster and kinship voices, maximizing resources, and focusing on policy issues are all a part of the equation.
June 26 @ 11:30 am – 12:30 pm
Lunch & Learn – Trauma and Child Development Hosted by Colorado CASA
July 31 @ 11:30 am – 12:30 pm
Lunch & Learn – Educational Advocacy: Understanding IEPs and 504s Hosted by Colorado CASA
Prerecorded Webinars:
Webinar Link Here
Password: Juvenile1
Description: Unnecessary removal of children from their families results in separation trauma and impacts families of color disproportionately. Families deserve for decisions with such weighty implications to be based on safety, and removal should only occur when children cannot remain in the home safely. Cara Nord from the Office of the Child’s Representative and Melanie Jordan from the Office of Respondent Parents’ Counsel will provide you with tools to help judges and attorneys make decisions and arguments that are centered on the safety of children and families. Participants will come away with multiple resources to help them ask questions and provide solutions that allow families to remain safely together.
Description: Learn more about ICWA (Indian Child Welfare Act) in the Jefferson County court system. Hear from lead caseworkers about how ICWA impacts cases, advocacy, and cultural considerations. We discuss the difference between reasonable and “active” efforts required to serve families with an ICWA case.
Description: A training for CASA volunteers and staff to learn how to better support the diverse sex and gender expressions of youth and families we serve.
Additional Materials: The Trevor Project Research Brief: LGBTQ+ Youth with a History of Foster Care
Supporting LGBTQ+ Youth: A Guide for Foster Parents
Description: The National CASA/GAL Association for Children hosted a webinar on ICWA and the role CASA/GAL staff and volunteer advocates can have in advocating for Indian children. According to the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the purpose of the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) is ” … to protect the best interest of Indian Children and to promote the stability and security of Indian tribes and families by the establishment of minimum Federal standards for the removal of Indian children and placement of such children in homes which will reflect the unique values of Indian culture … “(25 U.S. C. 1902). ICWA provides guidance to States regarding the handling of child abuse and neglect and adoption cases involving Native children and sets minimum standards for the handling of these cases.