CASA Connection
Education, information, and stories about the foster care world.
Episodes
This week, Tracey and Jeff talked about men's mental health as we recognize Men's Mental Health Awareness Month here in June. Jeff shares some of his story growing up, and inevitably focusing on himself and his mental health, healing from the trauma he endured as a young boy. The overriding theme of this episode, talking to someone helps to heal.
This episode features former New Jersey Superior Court Judge Thomas Dilts who pulls back the judicial curtain within the realm of foster care. After having spent much of his career as a family court judge, he came to understand how valuable CASA and CASA volunteers were to children living in foster care within our communities. We discussed his time as judge, what CASA has meant to him, and how he continues advocating for children i...
In this episode, Tracey and Jeff talk about the very real condition of burnout and how we, in the social work profession, need to institute boundaries from time to time. The mental health of our CASA volunteers, staff, Board of Trustees, and every stakeholder is important. We need to recognize what burnout might look like, and how to put up those boundaries when needed.
We spoke to our friends at CASA of New Jersey about the CASA Network Impact Initiative they have undertaken with the 12 CASA programs throughout the state. What is the goal of this initiative? How is being implemented? Inevitably, how will this help our CASA programs better serve children who are living in foster care? A great discussion about the progress our CASA programs are making.
On this episode, Jeff is joined by CASA SHaW Case Supervisor Lynn Kinkel as they discuss CASA's 20-year anniversary. Lynn was recently recognized at CASA SHaW's 20th Anniversary Gala as one of foundational pieces of our CASA program over the past two decades. Lynn discussed her many experiences, how she thinks we - as a society - can be better for children, and what our CASA nonprofit has meant to our region. It was a great discuss...
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.
As the holiday season is here, we wanted to touch on what trauma means for children - and even adults - during this time of year. Cory Matthew, the Program Director from Middle Earth in Somerset County, NJ, talked to us about being more trauma informed. Plus, what is the best way for us to reach children, especially during this time of year when families get together and when there are people celebrating? How can we best reach the...
This is Part 3 in our three part series titled "Positive Discipline." In this episode we discuss positive discipline as it pertains to children ages 13 to 18. These are the formative teenage years when parents and youth are challenged in many ways. What are the dos and don'ts in terms of discipline? What responses and communication can be of harm to teenagers, and how can we as adults be good stewards to them? We get into it and pr...
This is Part 2 in our three part series titled "Positive Discipline." In this episode we discuss positive discipline as it pertains to children ages 6 to 12. What are the dos and don'ts in terms of discipline as these formative years are so critical for children. What responses and communication can be of harm to them, and how can we as adults be good stewards to them? We get into it and provide a lot of great information during th...
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.
What is the future of healing? How can we better understand and embrace that process of healing from trauma? The healing-centered engagement model and C.A.R.M.A. principles shows us how we can do this as a community and society overall. Culture, agency, relationships, meaning, and aspiration are the principles we can utilize. We discuss this in detail during this episode with Tia Sanders from the New Jersey Office of Resilience und...
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.
On this episode, Tracey and Jeff discuss how we can go about asking the right questions in terms of our CASA advocacy - essentially making sure that everyone is on the same page. Everyone from educators to caseworkers to doctors to caregivers, and more. If we're just rubber stamping what the child welfare system wants, are we doing our best advocacy? How can we dig in with collateral contacts to give the judge the best report poss...
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