National CASA Podcast

The National CASA Association and the National Council of Family and Juvenile Court Judges (NCJFCJ) have an extensive collaborative history in working towards permanency and well-being for children.  Sworn in as President of NCJFCJ in July of 2014, and an active supporter of CASA, Judge Peggy H. Walker talks about this relationship and shares her expertise on working with infants and toddlers, brain science and judicial leadership involving abused and neglected children. 

LaDonna Wattley, founder of Wattley Training Institute and former Volunteer Director with Child Advocates, Inc. in Indianapolis, IN, has used her vast experiences in the child welfare, adoption and educational fields to develop in-depth trainings for others working in those fields, especially around working with families of color.  Listen to Ms. Wattley discuss cultural competency and other important things to consider when working with children and families.

Sharon Nelson and John Simek have been busy as the President and Vice President of Sensei Enterprises, Inc., a successful digital forensics, information technology and information security company. Their schedules just got even busier as Sharon was elected President of the Virginia State Bar. When they were looking for a rewarding, hands-on way to help others, they found a natural fit with Fairfax CASA in Fairfax, VA.  Listen to Sharon and John share their experiences as CASA volunteers, learn tips on working with the legal system and keeping things confidential using online technology tools, and hear their thoughts on using Skype as a tool to meet with CASA youth.

To celebrate the 50th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I have a dream" speech, members of the National CASA Facebook community have shared their dreams for future generations of children.  Listen to the final week of a four part audio collage recorded by National CASA staff, featuring the voices of Marleisha Cox, YWCA GirlsFirst intern, and Ellis, son of National CASA staff member Jill Wiedenhoft.

In this podcast, National CASA chief program officer, Sally Erny reflects on her experience and inspiration throughout her career. Listen to Sally talk about her 27 years of service to CASA and her vision for National CASA. National CASA is celebrating 35 years of volunteer advocacy; Sally is one of the 35 Faces that is making the life better for abused and neglected children.

To celebrate the 50th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I have a dream" speech, members of the National CASA Facebook community have shared their dreams for future generations of children.  Listen to week three of a four part audio collage series recorded by National CASA Staff.

To celebrate the 50th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I have a dream" speech, members of the National CASA Facebook community have shared their dreams for future generations of children.  Listen to week two of a four part audio collage series recorded by National CASA Staff.

To celebrate the 50th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I have a dream" speech, members of the National CASA Facebook community have shared their dreams for future generations of children.  Listen to week one of a four part audio collage series recorded by National CASA Staff.

The Human Rights Campaign Foundation initiatve All Children - All Families helps child welfare organizations improve their recruitment and retention of volunteers and resource families in the LGBT community and works to enhance the LGBT cultural competency within the child welfare system.  Tracy Flynn, consultant with the Human Rights Campaign Foundation, talks more about this opportunity.

Older youth often age out of the foster care system without the tools and resources needed to successfully transition to adulthood.  CASA and GAL volunteers that have been trained with the National CASA Fostering Futures curriculum are more aware of the needs of older youth and are better able to work alongside them to realize better outcomes.  In this podcast, four staff members from the Essex County CASA program in Newark, NJ discuss their experiences implementing Fostering Futures and how they are tracking and documenting outcomes.

After 35 years of CASA volunteers representing children in court, we caught up with the man who started it all.  In this podcast, hear Judge David Soukup remind us how it all got started.

Since 2003 specially trained facility dogs have been assisting children and other individuals with physical, psychological or emotional trauma in the court system.  In this podcast, Ellen O'Neill-Stephens and Celeste Walsen from the Courthouse Dogs Foundation talk about how this program got started and provide their legal and clinical expertise on how dogs are changing the way emotional needs are being met in the courts, especially with child victims.

This podcast takes a closer look at the most recent revision of the National CASA Standards for Local CASA/GAL Programs.  Listen to Shelley Morgan, Sybil Turner and Melissa Protzek discuss the importance of the standards and quality assurance process and talk about some of the reasons behind the most recent revisions.

Glenn and Sherri Eckhardt were named the 2012 Florida GAL Volunteers of the Year.  Hear how this husband and wife team has also partnered with other GAL volunteers to more effectively serve on complex cases and form lifelong bonds while ensuring that the basic needs of children in foster care are met.

Judge Louis A. Trosch Jr. of the 26th Judicial District in Mecklenburg County, NC, has done extensive work both personally and professionally to address issues of racial disproportionality and disparity in the child welfare and juvenile justice systems.  Hear Judge Trosch talk about the work he has done and offer ways to address these issues in your own community.

In the Fall 2012 issue of the Connection magazine, Judge Joyce Williams Warren of Little Rock, AR, shared her advice to CASA volunteers on working with their judge.  In this interview, hear Judge Warren talk about why CASA volunteers are so important, as well as provide insight in working with both younger and older children in the court system.

Learn how the Flex Learning curriculum can help develop more confident and effective volunteers.  In this podcast, program coordinator, Amia Barrows describes this blended learning approach and talks about her experience implementing this new volunteer training in her community.

After spending her childhood in an abusive home and several years in the foster care system, Stephanie Holt finds strength through her work as a CASA volunteer.  In this podcast hear Stephanie share her story as she offers hope to foster youth and provides insight for all CASA volunteers.    

We asked members of the National CASA network and Facebook community to describe the successful qualities of a CASA volunteer. Hear some of the responses we received.

In this podcast, hear how Educational Advocacy Coordinator Jeff Perry is working to improve the educational outcomes for youth in the San Francisco CASA program and how CASA volunteers can be better advocates for the CASA youth they serve.