CASA of Stanislaus County
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Resources for Our Advocates


National and State CASA Resources
The National CASA Association has a wide range of Advocacy Resources for CASA Volunteers and Program Staff.  Click HERE to visit their Advocacy Resource page.
The California CASA Association also has many resources for our volunteers to utilize.  Click HERE to visit their Volunteer Resource page.

CASA of Stanislaus County: Resources for our Advocates
For Our ADVOCATES: Monthly reports
Part of being an advocate is accurately reporting the time, mileage, and money spent while advocating for foster youth.  These hours and mileage reports are mandatory and vital to the funding of our program.  If you have any trouble  or if you have questions about reporting, please contact your case manager.
CF Report - Case Form
File Size: 39 kb
File Type: docx
Download File

AF Report - Advocate Form
File Size: 38 kb
File Type: docx
Download File

CASA ADVOCATES - OPTIMA LOG IN HERE
Things to do around the area with your kids
Stanislaus County Library Story Time & Events for Kids
Great Valley Museum and Planetarium - MJC
City of Modesto Parks and Rec Activity Guide
City of Turlock - Recreation
City of Ceres - Recreation Department
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City of Riverbank - Parks & Recreation 
City of Patterson - Recreation & Community Services
ModestoView Events Calendar
The State Theater - Youth Ed
Gallo Center for the Arts - Family & Kids events
Stanislaus County Police Activities League (PAL)

Links and Ideas for Continuing Education Resources
Ted Talks:

Nadine Burke Harris: How childhood trauma affects health across a lifetime
Richard Wilkinson: How Economic Inequality Harms Societies
Brene Brown: The Power of Vulnerability
Ernesto Sirolli: Want to Help Someone? Shut Up and Listen!
Dan Pallotta: The Way We Think About Charity is Dead Wrong
Becky Blanton: The Year I Was Homeless
Emily Pilloton: Teaching Design for Change
Nigel Marsh: How to Make Work-Life Balance Work
Georgette Mulheir: The Tragedy of Orphanages
Dan Gilbert: Why We Make Bad Decisions
Leslie Morgan Steiner: Why Domestic Violence Victims Don’t Leave
Reshma Saujani: Teach girls bravery, not perfection
Rita Pierson: Every kid needs a champion
Johann Hari: Everything you think you know about addiction is wrong
Michael Botticelli: Addiction is a disease. We should treat it like one
Juliana Mosley, Ph.D.: Cultural Humility
​Melanie Funchess: Implicit Bias -- how it effects us and how we push through​

Youtube Videos:
Youth voices: Life after foster care
(un)wanted | Foster Care Documentary
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Quality Parenting Initiative - Training Videos 

The QPI Website has a wide variety of training videos that, while intended for caregivers, are still very valuable to advocates.  The videos are sorted by topic for you to browse what you might be interested in learning more about. 

Podcasts:
Child Welfare Information Gateway
The Child Welfare Information Gateway Podcast shares the innovations, lessons, and perspectives from those working to improve child welfare system. Our mission is to help adoption, foster care, and child safety caseworkers by exploring new ideas and practices making a difference in the lives of children, youth and families. Child Welfare Information Gateway is a service of the Children’s Bureau, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
TED Talks Kids and Family
Fun videos to inspire, intrigue and stir your imagination from some of the world's leading thinkers and doers onstage at the TED conference, TEDx events and partner events around the world. You can also download these and many other videos free on TED.com, with an interactive English transcript and subtitles in up to 80 languages. TED is a nonprofit devoted to Ideas Worth Spreading.
Healthy Children
Produced in conjunction with the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and their consumer site, HealthyChildren.org, Healthy Children is hosted by our favorite Mom: Melanie Cole, MS. Join Melanie as she interviews expert pediatricians and discusses all aspects of your children’s health and well-being. From infants to teens, potty training to bullying, to prom safety – this is your ultimate audio parenting guide available On Demand 24/7!


​CASA of Stanislaus County: Additional Resources
Click on the Logo below and you will be re-directed to the respective Web Site:​
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 SpecialNeedsinmycity.com is an online parent resource for families with individuals with special needs. This one-stop, online resource helps families to know what recreational, educational and community events are taking place, what types of resources are available and hear from top-notch medical experts sharing their knowledge and expertise while answering parent concerns and issues.  The free parent group allows families to ask their concerns, share their knowledge and experience with other parents and connect with families in similar situations. 
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Community Services Agency - Sometimes the danger of abuse or neglect is so great that children must be removed from their homes. The foster care system provides a safe, hopefully temporary, environment for these displaced young victims. Receiving Homes are ready, 24 hours per day, to act as temporary shelters for children. Stays in these homes are not to exceed 30 days until suitable relatives can be located, or the children are matched with foster families. Regular Foster Care Homes are the backbone of the foster care system. These are homes where children are integrated, as naturally as possible, into family living situations. The trained foster parents must embrace and nurture the children, assist with the family's reunifications, and be selflessly ready to terminate the relationship as soon as the family is reunited. Specialized Foster Care Homes are county-licensed Level I, II, III, or IV foster homes, Foster Family Agency homes, Valley Mountain Regional Center vendored homes or group homes for children who have physical or emotional needs that required specialized settings. Specialized foster care homes are compensated according to the level of care children required. Examples of children who might require specialized care are: newborns critically affected by the mother's drug use, severely emotionally disturbed children, physically impaired or developmentally delayed children.
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Foster Youth Services Coordinating Program (FYSCP) provide support services to foster children who suffer the traumatic effects of displacement from family and schools and multiple placements in foster care.  FYSCP have the ability and authority to ensure that health and school records are obtained to establish appropriate placements and coordinate instruction, counseling, tutoring, mentoring, vocational training, emancipation services, training for independent living, and other related services.  FYSCP work with current and former youth, as well as staff members of group homes, schools, juvenile detention facilities, child welfare agencies, probation departments, and community service agencies to influence foster children's day-to-day routines, both during and after school.  FYSCP increase the stability of placements for foster children and youth.  These services are designed to improve the children's educational performance and personal achievement, directly benefiting them as well as providing long-range cost savings to the state.
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California Ombudsman for Foster Care - New California law gives foster youth the option to remain in foster care and receive services and supports until age 21! If you are a former foster youth under the age of 26, you qualify for FREE Medi-Cal coverage, which includes health, dental, vision, mental health, and substance abuse services. This website has a lot of information that will help current and former foster youth.
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Foster Youth Wellness Website - This site is designed to help foster youth and the adults in their lives learn more about pursuing wellness by providing links to youth friendly wellness resources. Here you'll find links to interactive tools, youth friendly websites, hands-on tools and worksheets, videos, articles, and more. All resources may be downloaded for personal use or educational purposes by foster youth and their adult allies. 
  • Home
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  • Volunteer
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    • Training Materials
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