Learning center
We offer continuing education opportunities for all volunteers, ambassadors, and supporters through webinars and workshops, along with in-person and virtual training:
May
Working with Families to Achieve Success
CASA volunteers are invited to join us for a discussion on Working with Families to Achieve Success, on May 2, from 6-8pm on ZOOM, hosted by Nadia Herrera, Esq. Deputy Public Defender, Office Of Parental Representation – Northern Region.
Volunteers will learn:
- A basic history of child welfare
- About the OPR, Social Work Support, Trauma-informed Support, the future of Child Welfare toward prevention, support and safety
- Child Welfare Data & Outcomes
May
Addressing the Opioid Epidemic: A Primer on Opioid Addiction, Overdose Management, and Medications for Opioid Use Disorder
CASA volunteers are invited to participate in a special presentation on Opioid Addiction, on May 21, from 6-7pm on ZOOM, hosted by The Robert Wood Johnson Medical School at Rutgers University.
Volunteers will learn:
– About the factors that led to the US opioid crisis.
– The proper uses of naloxone for overdose reversal.
– How to recognize the signs of opioid use disorder.
– About commonly held myths and beliefs on treatment for opioid use disorder.
– About the key role of MOUD (Medications for Opioid Use Disorder) in enhancing outcomes.
June
The Dynamic of Domestic Violence and the Law
CASA volunteers are invited to join us for a discussion on Domestic Violence and the Law, on June 6, from 6-8:30pm at the Clark Public Library, Union County, hosted by Angelica Alvira and Karen Nagy, YWCA of Union County.
Volunteers will learn:
- All different aspects of power and control including how abuse can take many informs including emotional, physical, sexual, financial, and coercive control tactics.
- The process for obtaining a restraining order in NJ, including who qualifies and which acts are defined as domestic violence under the law.
- The difference between a civil restraining order and the criminal “no contact order”
CASA Book Club
Our next book for CASA Book Club is 'The Journal of Best Practices: A Memoir of Marriage, Asperger Syndrome, and One Man's Quest to Be a Better Husband' - by David Finch.
This book tells the story of a husband's Asperger Syndrome diagnosis at the age of 30, and the impacts of this revelation on his marriage and family. This lighthearted, autobiographical book offers insight and perspective on life on the spectrum, and a wonderful reminder that we each see the world from our own view and based on our own experiences.
Here's a brief NPR podcast with the author, if you want a sneak preview: https://www.npr.org/2012/02/03/146342668/best-practices-learning-to-live-with-aspergers
Read this book and join us for one of the discussion dates below to receive 3 hours of in-service credit.
May 16, 6-8pm, Westfield address will be provided after RSVP.
May 20, 6-8pm, Wayne office
Email annie@casapassaicunion.org to RSVP.
Virtual Training
CASA College Virtual Training
CASA of NJ's CASA College offers many excellent training sessions online that are free for CASA Volunteers:
May
Partnering with Parents
Wednesday, May 1, 2024 from 10am-12pm
Connections Matter (ACES)
Wednesday, May 8, 202 from 6-8pm
History of Race in Child Welfare (HRCW)
Wednesday, May 15, 2024 from 10am-12pm
June
Working with Undocumented Families
Wednesday, June 5, 2024 from 10am-12pm
Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACES)
Wednesday, June 12, 2024 from 10am-12pm
History of Race in Child Welfare (HRCW)
Wednesday, June 19, 2024 from 6-8pm
National CASA/GAL Association 2023 Archived Webinars Catalog
This catalog features a series of webinars hosted by the National CASA/GAL Association for Children throughout 2023. Topics include:
Tips and Technology: CASA/GAL Witness Testimony
Advancing Education Rights, Ensuring Equal Access, and Addressing Barriers for Students in Care
Creating a Gender Inclusive Environment in Child Welfare Systems
Understanding Relationships and Their Importance to Early Childhood Development
Mental Health Essentials Part One: Foundations of Mental Health
Mental Health Essentials Part Two: Strategies to Support & Promote Mental Health
Through the Eyes of the Child: Exploring Protective Factors and Supporting Resiliency
On-Demand Training on Problematic Sexual Behavior (PSB) in Children and Adolescents
Understanding and Serving Children with PSBs (2-hours, 3 minutes)
NOTE: You must register for the training. You will then receive a link to the recording. You cannot close out of the training once you begin it. If you close out of the training before completing the short quiz at the end, you will need to contact katherine@njcainc.org to send you a link so that you may resume the training where you left off.
Understanding and Serving Adolescents with PSBs (2-hours, 44 minutes)
NOTE: You must register for the training. You will then receive a link to the recording. You cannot close out of the training once you begin it. If you close out of the training before completing the short quiz at the end, you will need to contact katherine@njcainc.org to send you a link so that you may resume the training where you left off.
Training series on working with children and youth with PSB (four x 30-minute modules)
Overview of PSBs
Special Considerations for CACs
Treatment Response
Community Engagement
NOTE: You must create a login to view the free training series. Use code 15462 for the organizational ID when creating your account.
NOTE: You must create a login to view the free training series. Use code 15462 for the organizational ID when creating your account.
NOTE: You must create a login to view the free training series. Use code 15462 for the organizational ID when creating your account.
Training Series from OneOp, Sexual Behavior in Children and Youth
This training series addresses normal sexual behavior in children in addition to exploring cautionary and problematic sexual behavior (PSB) that children may display. Various factors associated with children’s sexual behavior are identified in order to assist clinicians in understanding the appropriate assessment and disclosure processes involved when problematic symptoms are present.
Culturally Competent Responses to Youth with Problematic Sexual Behavior (90 minutes)
Supporting Youth to Set Healthy Boundaries with Technology (90 minutes)
Considering the Adolescent Brain When Addressing Problematic Sexual Behavior of Youth (90 minutes)
Talking with Youth about Sex, Sexuality, and Media (90 minutes)
Modeling Healthy Technology Behaviors for Young Children (90 minutes)
NOTE: You must create a login to view the free training series.
This training series provides professional development for clinically assessing, responding to, and treating PSB-CY. These courses were created from evidence-based best practices and focus on youth between the ages of 9 and 14 with problematic sexual behaviors (PSB).
Clinical Assessment of Children and Youth with PSB (90 minutes)
Caregiver Engagement in Assessment and Treatment (90 minutes)
Clinical Decision-making and Treatment Planning (90 minutes)
Monitoring, Safety Planning, Supervision, and Treatment Progress (90 minutes)
NOTE: You must create a login to view the free training series. This series recommends seven prerequisite webinars. Five are included above. The content of the remaining two is covered in the first webinar, Understanding and Serving Children with PSB.
Additional training and resources
A training series from OneOp that includes 19 modules (nine are included above)
National Center on the Sexual Behavior of Youth (NCSBY)
Association for Treatment and Prevention of Sexual Abuse
Southern Regional CACs Podcast Series
White Paper
Fact Sheets
Learning resources
Diversity, equity, inclusion, accessibility and belonging
Project Implicit (Harvard)
Harvard.edu hosts Project Implicit, a series of Implicit Association Tests (IATs) that attempt to identify implicit biases you may hold concerning different groups of people. Use the button below to visit the Project Implicit page. Once you complete the IATs you wish to take, you can log your participation using our CEU form.
Belonging: Boxes experiment
Kirwan Institute Implicit Bias series
This video training series on implicit bias is provided on-demand by the Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity at The Ohio State University. You can log your participation using our CEU form.
Inclusion and the power of diversity
Growing up LGBTQ in Texas foster care
CASA College archive
Training recordings
DCF Kinship Placement Initiative Training Webinar, March 2021 Click here for webinar
Citizenship and Immigration Status with Randi Mandelbaum, January 2022, Courtesy of CASA of Morris and Sussex Counties Click here for webinar
Disability Rights New Jersey Presentation, March 2022 Click here for webinar
CASA College
DCPP and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Initiatives, November 2022 Recording
Substance Abuse and Bias in Treatment, January 2023 Click here for webinar
Recognizing Complex Family Dynamics, February 2023 Click here for webinar
Special Considerations for LGBTQI+ Children and Youth, March 2023 Click here for webinar