Learning Center

 

Learning Center

We offer continuing education opportunities for all volunteers, ambassadors, and supporters through webinars, workshops, and in-person training.


IN PERSON

 

Working with Families to Achieve Success

CASA volunteers are invited to join us for a discussion on Working with Families to Achieve Success, hosted by Nadia Herrera, Esq. Deputy Public Defender, Office Of Parental Representation – Northern Region.

April 22, from 6-8pm at the Westfield Public Library, 550 E Broad St, Westfield, NJ 07090

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

Click to register


The Dynamic of Domestic Violence and the Law

CASA volunteers are invited to join us for a discussion on Domestic Violence and the Law hosted by Angelica Alvira and Karen Nagy, YWCA of Union County.

June 6, from 6-8:30pm at the Clark Public Library, 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”

Click to register


BOOK CLUB

 

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

 

Safe Babies Court Team 101 Virtual Training

Monday, April 15, 2024 from 6-7pm

The New Jersey Safe Babies Court Team (SBCT) uses the science of early childhood development to improve outcomes for New Jersey infants, toddlers, and families involved in the child welfare system.

The SBCT approach connects children ages 0-3 and their families to the services and support they need. The goal is for children to maintain healthy development and have lasting permanency, specifically family reunification, whenever safely possible.

Click to register


CASA College Virtual Training:

CASA of NJ's CASA College offers many excellent training sessions online that are free for CASA Volunteers:

Aging Out
Wednesday, April 3, 2024 from 10am-12pm

‘Practical’ Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACES)
Wednesday, April 10, 202 from 6-8pm

  • Gives an overview of ACEs, explains how the brain responds to repeated traumatic experiences in childhood, and provides strategies to respond to people experiencing dysregulation.

History of Race in Child Welfare (HRCW)
Wednesday, April 17, 2024 from 6-8pm

Register for CASA College Training


Additional Reading and Learning:

Media Suggestions

Traliant Training


 

Learning Resources

(to apply for in-service credit)

(to apply for credit)

 

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

Don't Put People in Boxes

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.


Recorded Webinars

In this free 11-week Harvard course, learn how to protect children from violence, exploitation, and neglect through law, policy, and practice in a human rights framework.

These courses cover the signs and symptoms of sexual abuse and possible risk factors.

Free tutorials from the National Center of Substance Abuse and Child Welfare

Free webinars that discuss the many issues of the Juvenile and Family Court systems

 

This free 10-part recorded webinar series covers domestic violence and caring for others while caring for ourselves

CASA College Archive

Training Recordings

CASA College