National CASA Podcast

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.

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.

This podcast is an interview with Syeda Naqvi from CASA of Cook County in which she discusses the importance of a youth's health and its effects on their well being in the future.

Stacy Shook, a board certified behavior analyst and the director of Northwest Behavioral Associates in Seattle, WA, discusses autism spectrum disorder, how it may be treated, and possible services for children and their caregivers.

In this podcast Monica Boguki, a lawyer with the Legal Aid Society of Minneapolis, discusses issues around families living in poverty, their battle to get out of poverty, and ways a CASA/GAL volunteer advocate can assist these families.

In this podcast we talk about bullying with Tracy Flynn, a trainer and consultant. She describes signs a child might show, the long-term effects of bullying and how you can help children who are experiencing bullying.

A CASA volunteer from Washington state who has both personal and professional experience dealing with families affected by developmental delays discusses how to advocate effectively either for children with developmental delays or for children whose parents have delays.

One goal of CASA/GAL advocates is to ensure that the youth they serve visit with their biological parents. When their parents are incarcerated, this task is tricky-but certainly not impossible. In this podcast two woman who work on Project Family Connect describe the importance of the parent/child connection while discussing how advocates may overcome obstacles to facilitating meetings between children and incarcerated parents.

In this podcast, Lisa Barsky Firsker Phd., Executive Director from Morris and Sussex Counties, discusses how to work with children who are dealing with the death of a family member or other significant loss in their lives. Firsker describes services children may need and shares tips for volunteers about what they should expect from grieving children and how they can work through their own grief.

Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS)-the most common legal status available to immigrant youth-is an important consideration in a growing number of our network's cases. In this podcast, Susan Schmidt, a consultant for Bridging Refugee Youth and Children's Services, discusses why it is important for our volunteer advocates to be familiar with SIJS and the issues immigrant family members might encounter when adjusting to their new country. This is part two of a two-part podcast.

Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS)-the most common lawful status available to immigrant youth-is an important consideration in a growing amount of our network's cases. In this podcast, Susan Schmidt, a consultant for Bridging Refugee Youth and Children's Services, provides an introduction to SIJS. This is part one of a two-part podcast.

Lisa Barsky Firsker, PhD explains how the use of simple materials such as crayons, paper, colored pencils and markers can be a powerful way to communicate with a child. As she says: "Inside every quiet child there is a loud voice trying to get out."

In this podcast Jacqueline Wilson from Louisiana CASA Association discusses the importance of including the youth in the decision making process in creating their plan.

Lynn Riemer, expert on drug manufacturing, explains the effects of methamphetamine on the families and children we serve.  Lynn was a presenter at our 2009 National CASA Conference and will be returning to speak at our 2010 National CASA Conference in Atlanta, April 16-19.

LaRae Oberloh, program manager with the Sioux Falls Area CASA Program, discusses ways a CASA/GAL volunteer can effectively advocate for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning youth in foster care.

Kali Scolnick, educator and intercultural consultant, discusses the importance of intercultural communication.

Gwen Hurst-Anderson, state director of Nebraska CASA, discusses domestic violence and its effect on volunteer advocacy.

Kathleen McNaught of the American Bar Association talks about the importance of education in the lives of children and how CASA/GAL volunteers can ensure that educational needs are being met.