In this episode, we’re delighted to be in conversation with Laura Villarreal, the Neurodevelopmental Program Specialist with the Texas Workforce Commission Vocational Rehabilitation Services. Laura shines a light on the web of services and supports that the Texas Workforce Commission offers for teens and young adults in foster care to help expand their access to economic opportunities and supportive mentoring relationships with a goal of establishing life-giving stability as they transition to young adulthood. 

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As the families we walk alongside embark on a new school year, let's pause to reflect on how CASA advocates can have a powerful impact on increasing educational stability and success for youth in foster care. In this episode, we're joined by the brilliant Chantal Hinds, an attorney, policy entrepreneur, and an advocate for the well-being of students involved in the foster system. Chantal shares valuable insights from her research into improving educational wellbeing for youth in care, as well as wisdom around what works when it comes to partnering with parents and foster caregivers to better facilitate their involvement as part of that child or youth’s educational support system. For more information on Chantal's work, check out https://thenext100.org/entrepreneur/chantal-hinds/. 

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As CASAs, we know how  critical it is that parents and family members have access to the information and support needed to successfully navigate what can be a complex and overwhelming child welfare system. In this episode, we're deeply honored to be joined by Sarah Bryant, managing attorney for The Family Helpline. A project of the Texas Legal Services Center, the Helpline exists to stand in the gap for families seeking information and clarity about the CPS legal process. Sarah brings her extensive experience representing and supporting both children and parents involved in CPS cases to this discussion, highlighting how CASAs and others within the system can work to effectively partner with families and strive to improve procedural justice through our advocacy. 

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With 47% of children in foster care falling into the 0 to 5 age range, it's critical that we're up to date on best practices in advocating for young children and strategies for effectively supporting their families. Powerhouse duo Krystal Vann and Carollyn Thesing from Child Advocates of Fort Bend return for part two of this conversation with a focus on advocating for the educational and developmental needs of four- and five-year-olds, as well as trauma-informed approaches to supporting families with young children as they navigate the CPS system. Texas CASA's Anna McDonnell joins us to share valuable resources on 0-5 advocacy for programs and advocates.

To learn more about Trust-Based Relational Intervention, visit the Texas CASA Learning Center. For CASA staff interested in learning more about Child Advocates of Fort Bend's whole-program approach to 0-5 advocacy, check out their webinar series here.

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In part one of this two-part conversation, we're thrilled to be joined by the seasoned team of Krystal Vann and Carollyn Thesing from Child Advocates of Fort Bend to draw on their experience leading a trailblazing advocacy program for children five and younger and their families. We’ll be talking about best practices in advocating for the developmentally-specific needs of children in this age group and how CASA advocates can work to support and partner with their parents and families. 

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How can we support the youth we walk alongside in cultivating resilience across the essential, interconnected domains of life? In this episode, we're joined by powerhouse CASA advocate and social entrepreneur Jordan Bartlett for a conversation about showing up, building rapport, and creating authentic relationships with youth. Jordan draws on his experience as co-founder of Doing Good Works, a Texas-based company focused on creating sustainable solutions and helping individuals achieve their best, to share stories and insights from his work mentoring, supporting and partnering with youth who have experienced foster care. 

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The minimum sufficient level of care or MSL is a critical polestar for CASA advocacy. How can advocates ensure that we are fully embracing the MSL in our decision-making and our recommendations to the court? Drawing on her legal background as an attorney and mediator as well as her decade+ tenure with CASA, the brilliant Leslie Cocke joins us to unpack ways in which the MSL can be an important safeguard in our advocacy and to explore how CASA volunteers can strengthen their MSL lens. Click here to find the MSL pocket guide Leslie mentions.

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January is National Human Trafficking Prevention Month and Texas CASA is deeply honored to have Rhonda Kuykendall discussing what advocates should know and can do when it comes to preventing child trafficking and supporting youth who have experienced the trauma of trafficking. Some trainings and resources mentioned in the episode include Innovations in Advocacy to Combat Child Sex Trafficking; Advocacy for Commercially Sexually Exploited Children; and How to Talk About Human Trafficking with Children and Adolescents. Rhonda can be reached at [email protected]. 

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Foster and kinship caregivers play an incredibly important role in caring for the children and youth we walk alongside. How can CASA advocates ensure that these caregivers have the support they need while engaging them as valuable team members in our advocacy for children and families? Joining us for this conversation is the phenomenal Naomi Sawyer, Advocate Supervisor and CFE Lead at CASA of Hill County. Naomi draws on her years of leadership in advocacy for youth and families in addition to her own experience as a kinship caregiver to illuminate ways CASA advocates can facilitate a stronger partnership between foster and kinship caregivers and the families of the youth they are caring for. 

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At Texas CASA, we believe in learning from the stories and leadership of those who have experienced our systems firsthand. In this episode, we’re joined by Renequa Burch, a mother whose family has been impacted by the Texas foster care system in a deeply agonizing way. Renequa’s experiences offer crucial insights about the importance of engaging meaningfully with parents and family members from the very beginning of appointment, the power of  effective communication and collaboration, the need to gather information independently and from the source, and the bedrock importance of ensuring advocacy is grounded in the minimum sufficient level of care. 

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