IN THIS EDITION
1. National CASA
Conference
2. Foster Care Month
In Sacramento
3. Reminder from
CalCASA
1. National CASA Conference
CalCASA Urges Attendance At National
CASA Conference
June 7th – 10th in Washington D.C.
A reminder to one and all that the annual National CASA Conference takes place this year in Washington D. C. from June 7th through June 10th and CalCASA STRONGLY URGES local CASA staff to attend as this is a particularly important year with many advantages to attendance.
National CASA provides a great deal of funding which flows throughout our California CASA system and the event provides numerous settings within which to establish personal relationships with National CASA staff. Additionally, there will be the opportunity to meet your local legislators and staff at a strategically critical time when the federal re-authorization for CASA programs and funding will come before our national representatives. The day of June 10th will be devoted to “CASA Meets Congress” activities. We strongly urge you to attend and meet your local representatives at the capitol and also to establish ties and develop and nurture relationships with them through their offices within your local community. Congressional representatives and staff are surprisingly receptive and responsive to local citizens and groups who take the time to meet with them, especially at the local level. It would also be a great opportunity to have CASA volunteers attend so that they may benefit from the many seminars and workshops being conducted, the opportunity as “average citizens” to let their congressional representatives know how important CASA is to them, and enjoy the camaraderie, networking, sharing of ideas and morale boost afforded by such a gathering of CASA people from throughout the country. CalCASA fully supports the concept of volunteer participation in the Conference and encourages local CASA’s to, in turn, encourage local volunteers to attend.
Conference goals include understanding the current condition of the children we serve, the building of skills and the acquisition of tools to enhance our ability to speak up for abused and neglected children, increasing our awareness of child welfare public policy issues and reform efforts on the national level, the expansion of our knowledge and our skills to better serve children in all communities and develop cultural competency as well as the sharing of experiences and ideas among all.
Attendance at the National CASA Conference will help us all gain a greater understanding of the role we play in improving conditions for abused and neglected children and enable us to obtain tools to better advocate for permanence to stop the cycle of abuse. These are understandings and tools which are critical to all CASA people, both staff and volunteer.
CalCASA strongly urges local CASA participation in the National CASA Conference during this crucial congressional re-authorization year. We at CalCASA are in the process of arranging a California reception so that all of our California CASA staff and volunteers have an opportunity to meet, share ideas and just plain enjoy themselves.
We at CalCASA look forward to seeing
many of our local colleagues in Washington!
Please follow the link below for more information and online
registration.
http://www.casanet.org/conference/index.htm
2. Foster Care Month In Sacramento
The 4th annual Capitol Kick Off rally will be held on Tuesday March 6th from 9:30 am to 3:30 pm on the Capitol steps. This event continues to grow and gain attention from the legislature, administration and the media. With the budget crisis this year, it is imperative that we have a strong message that showcases the success we have made in the foster care system in California.
Yolo County CASA and possibly two other programs are combining efforts and will have a booth set up at the event to spread awareness of CASA and let the event participants know how they can get involved with their local CASA offices in the area and across the state.
3. Reminder to take the BRC DVD Survey
We appreciate those of
you who have already completed this survey. We are striving to get 100%
participation from the CASA network and your feedback is valuable to us.
Please take a few minutes to fill out the survey below, if you have not
received your DVD please email
hvanderhorst@californiacasa.org.