The National CASA Association Volunteer Training Curriculum COntinuing education Cookbook
National Court Appointed Special Advocate Association 2008 National Court Appointed Special Advocate Association 100 West Harrison Street North Tower, Suite 500 Seattle, WA 98119 (800) 628-3233 nationalcasa.org The National CASA Association, together with its state and local members, supports and promotes court appointed volunteer advocacy for abused and neglected children so that they can thrive in safe, permanent homes. This project was supported by Cooperative Agreement No. 2007-CH- BX-K002 from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice. Points of view or opinions in this document are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice. Acknowledgments This cookbook was the brainchild of the National CASA Association training team and the National CASA Association Curriculum Advisory Committee (CAC). This group spent countless hours meeting in person and via conference call in order to develop a resource that programs may find useful in meeting the in-service learning needs of volunteers. National CASA Curriculum Advisory Committee Terene Bennett, Training Specialist, National CASA, Atlanta, GA Cindy Bizzell, North Carolina Judicial Branch Education Manager, Raleigh, NC Kim Deer, Program Manager, Okmulgee County Family Resource Center, Okmulgee, OK Rebecca Grossman, Training Manager, National CASA, Seattle, WA Marion Hallum, Director, Alaska CASA, Office of Public Advocacy, Anchorage, AK Dee Horn, CASA Volunteer, Atlanta, GA Tommy Jewell, Retired Judge, Albuquerque, NM Jennifer King, Program Operations Director, Georgia CASA, Atlanta, GA Isabel Morales, Senior Project Associate, Casey Family Services, New Haven, CT Susanne Smith, Program Manager, 4th Judicial District Guardian ad Litem Program, Minneapolis, MN Janet Ward, Regional Program Specialist, National CASA, Columbus, IN Brian Washburn, Training Director, National CASA, Seattle, WA Ben Wilkins, Director of Recruitment and Training, Dallas CASA, Dallas, TX COOKBOOK Production Team Jennie Goode, Freelance Editor and Writer, Seattle, WA Sharon Heiber, Writer/Editor, National CASA, Seattle, WA Joanne Lauterjung Kelly, Graphic Designer, Muse Indigo, Seattle, WA Brian Washburn, Training Director, National CASA, Seattle, WA
Table of Contents Welcome 1 Appetizers 3 Training Needs Assessment...4 Instructional Design for Adult Learners...5 Tracking In-Service Training...6 Entrees 7 Court Report Writing 201: Court Reports That Judges Will Love...8 Advocacy 201: Advocating for Children with Mental Illness...29 Advocacy 201: When Parents Relapse During Substance Abuse Recovery...41 Testimony 201: Testifying in a Contested Setting (Part 1 of 3)...53 Testimony 201: Providing Effective Testimony Under Direct Examination (Part 2 of 3)...57 Testimony 201: Providing Effective Testimony Under Cross-Examination (Part 3 of 3)....63 Salads 71 Extended Learning....72 E-Learning Resources...97 Side Dishes 101 Including Guest Speakers in In-Service Training...102 Sample Letter for Guest Speakers...104 Desserts 105 Brown Bag Lunchtime Discussion...106 Book Club.................................................107 Book Library...110 Movie Library...111 In-Service Reading...112 Movie Night...113 Mentor Program...114 Cross-Cultural Activities...115 Guest Facilitation...116 Field Trip to Placement Resources...117
Welcome to the National CASA Association Continuing Education Cookbook! You pour a tremendous amount of time, effort and money into recruiting, screening and preparing volunteers to advocate on behalf of abused and neglected children in your community. This resource has been designed to assist you in seasoning both your new volunteers and your veteran volunteers by nourishing their skill set through gourmet continuing education opportunities. Standard 7 in the National CASA Association Standards for Local CASA/GAL Programs sets out the following guidelines for training people to work as CASA/GAL volunteers: The CASA/GAL program delivers training to volunteers using the National CASA Association Volunteer Training Curriculum or its equivalent. The purpose of the training is to increase the knowledge, skills and abilities of volunteers so that they can fulfill the roles and responsibilities of a CASA/ GAL volunteer. The training consists of at least 30 hours of required pre-service training and 12 hours of required in-service training per year. In-service training opportunities include cultural competence training using National CASA s A World of Difference manual and video or the equivalent. In the following pages you will find recipes that together offer a balanced, varied and well-rounded menu of options for fulfilling the 12-hour inservice training requirement. As with any recipe, many of the lessons and suggestions in this cookbook can be modified based upon your needs and available resources. Good luck as you cook up the best ways to ensure that your volunteers continue to successfully advocate for safe and permanent homes for the abused and neglected children in your community! Welcome Your new volunteers have just been sworn in... Now what? The National CASA Association Curriculum Advisory Committee & the National CASA Association Training Team i