CASA Connection

Within this episode, Tracey and Jeff discussed healing-centered practices that are valuable for adults. We all want to interrupt children’s negative behaviors, and one of the best methods to do this is to promote healing-centered practices. The strategies to do this are: self-care, co-regulation, and touch points. We hope this episode is valuable to you and those in your network.

In this episode, Tracey and Jeff discussed the concerns and reality of about future CASA funding as there is much uncertainty coming from our federal government about how new policies may impact nonprofits and essential services to children and families in our community. Will our CASA nonprofit (and others throughout the state and country) be able to continue serving children in foster care appropriately in the future? 

On this episode, Jeff sat down and spoke to CASA SHaW's intern, Matthew Wickman, about his internship as a social work major, and how he dove into his work here at CASA. They spoke about how his internship provided him real world experience, the knowledge he has gained about CASA and the foster care system, as well as how he has grown both academically and personally. Plus much more great discussion points on this episode.

On this episode, Jeff talks with CASA SHaW Case Supervisor Wendy Parcell about her professional career, what led her to our CASA program, and how our CASA program has been making a positive impact for youth living in foster care, as well as their families. This is a great discussion that pulls back the curtain a bit and takes the listener inside CASA. 

On this episode, Jeff sat down with CASA SHaW advocate Karen Talbert to discuss her story about why she decided to become a CASA volunteer and how we can best be effective in our advocacy for youth living in foster care. Jeff and Karen discussed the learning curves after she became and advocate, and how that learning process created positive impact for the youth on her case. It was a great discussion!

As we embark on a new year of serving youth living in foster care in our region, we outlined and discussed in this episode our CASA goals for 2025. Tracey and Jeff discuss a number of avenues the CASA program will traveling, and endeavors CASA SHaW will be taking on to help serve more children and families.

As we end the 2024 year, our CASA program has accomplished much, and we wanted to share just a few of those accomplishments with you on this episode. From our recent CASA Holiday Shop to our trainings to our fundraising and events efforts to helping kids graduate from high school, we're so proud of what we've done here in 2024.

This is Part 1 in our three part series titled "Positive Discipline." In this episode we discuss positive discipline as it pertains to infancy to children to are 5-years-old. What are the dos and don'ts in terms of discipline as babies and children start to grow? What responses and communication can be of harm to them, and how can your mannerisms and demeanor help them? We get into it during this episode.

Based off our previous podcast upload (episode 55), we dove into how we can build rapport with parents who have suffered from trauma and repeat the cycle. How do we reach more folks? Trust is a huge aspect of this. We also look at how we can better understand others and build stronger relationships with those who have suffered abuse.

Within the world of foster care, abuse is tragically common. However, what we do not talk about enough is how we should be interacting with abuse victims. Everything from facial expressions to using supportive language are important in how we communicate with victims. How can we get better in terms of this communication? Tracey and Jeff outline some thoughts on this topic.

This week, Tracey and Jeff discussed how we can support academic success in foster care. Our CASA program is proud that four of our CASA youth graduated high school this past school year, and two are going off to college! How can we continue to be a voice for youth and families through our education system, and what are some of those best practices? We discuss it in detail in this episode.

When we look at the foster care world as a whole, parents bear the brunt of so much. Whether they are dealing with internal struggles, addiction, or need more knowledge about what's best for children, we still need to have respect for parents. That's what this episode is about and coming to a greater understanding about what parents go through within the world of foster care.

This week, Tracey and Jeff discussed CASA SHaW's core values: C.H.I.L.D. It's an acronym that's critical to the foundation and work of the CASA SHaW program. What does each letter stand for? At the end of the day, what do the core values mean to us and the children and families we serve?

This week, one of our amazing CASA volunteers, Ashley K., joined us for a great discussion and dive into how to advocate for babies who are in foster care. Ashley's case was very unique. Not only did she navigate a system that wasn't always easy - especially when her CASA child couldn't speak - she learned a lot along the way. She provided some great insight on how to get through the challenges of advocating for a baby.