National Volunteer Appreciation Week
April 18-24, 2021
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Pathways to Permanency: Expanding on APPLA Provisions and Youth Engagement to Improve Permanency |
The Preventing Sex Trafficking and Strengthening Families Act and Another Planned Permanent Living Arrangement
The Preventing Sex Trafficking and Strengthening Families Act of 2014, Public Law (P.L.) 113–183, made substantial changes to State agency and court child welfare practices, including limiting the use of Another Planned Permanent Living Arrangement (APPLA) as a permanency plan for youth in care. Under the Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997, APPLA was intended to eliminate the use of long-term foster care. Instead, it often is used as a catchall permanency category for children for whom it is difficult to find permanent homes, especially older youth in foster care. P.L. 113–183 contains provisions to prevent misuse of APPLA as a permanency goal. Section 112 of P.L. 113–183 refines APPLA as a permanency option by prohibiting its use for children under the age of 16 and increasing case plan and case review requirements for older youth with a permanency goal of APPLA (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2015). Child welfare agencies and courts have responsibilities to ensure that APPLA is selected as a permanency option only where the conditions of P.L. 113–183 are met, including that a youth has consistent, long-lasting relationships that will extend beyond a youth’s transition to adulthood.
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143 CASA volunteers served 299 children in March and helped find safe, permanent homes for 22 of those children.
113 children are still waiting for someone to be their voice.
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It takes 30 minutes to learn about the difference a CASA can make in a child's life.
Register for a virtual information session so you can join us for the next training starting on May 17, 2021.
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Our recruiters are excited to announce the "I Said Yes" to CASA Campaign. Each month we will share a video from volunteers inspiring others to say yes to becoming a CASA. Click the link below to hear why CASA Domonique said yes to becoming a voice for a child!
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“No one is more cherished in this world than someone who lightens the burden of another.”
– Author Unknown
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Being a CASA Volunteer has certainly look a little different over the last year! Many of you have completed Pre-Service Training virtually and our seasoned CASAs had to be creative with visits during the pandemic. It is easy to miss some important information or forget if it has been a while since you completed training. Below are some things that are very important aspects of being a CASA Volunteer.
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Remember to keep your CASA Volunteer file up-to-date with your current
auto insurance card, driver's license, and contact information.
And remember to visit your CASA child face-to-face at least once a month.
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In March, the Children's Advocacy Center provided advocacy and forensic interviews to 93 children.
In the River Region, 22 children and families were provided 72 hours of counseling.
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Detective Chad Tyson
Ascension Parish MDT Spotlight
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Detective Chad Tyson works with the Ascension Parish Sheriff’s Department and is a member of the Multi-Disciplinary Team. He worked with uniform patrol for 10 years and then as a school resource officer for a year and a half. He then joined the Juvenile Division as a Detective and has been in this role for almost three years.
Detective Tyson feels that the CAC helps victims and their families feel more comfortable, and as a result, they are better able to talk with him regarding their cases. He is a strong advocate for the MDT partnership because, as a team, we can provide resources to these children and their families during this often difficult time.
When Detective Tyson is not busy working his cases, he loves hunting, fishing, woodworking, and working with the animals on his growing farm.
Thank you so much for the work you do and your dedication to the children and families of Ascension Parish.
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A Symbol of Prevention
In 2008, Prevent Child Abuse America introduced the pinwheel as the new national symbol for child abuse prevention. Why? Because by its very nature, the pinwheel connotes playfulness, joy, and childhood. It has come to serve as a physical reminder of the great childhoods we want for all children. And as a symbol, the cyclical nature of the pinwheel calls to mind the positive cycles of love and support we want to help families create.
It also represents the efforts to change the way our nation thinks about prevention by focusing on community activities and public policies that prioritize prevention to make sure child abuse and neglect never occur. Over a million pinwheels have been displayed across the US since April 2008, and we hope you’ll join us by bringing pinwheels to our communities, too.
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Stewards of Children Training
Stewards of Children is a revolutionary sexual abuse prevention training program that educates adults to prevent, recognize, and react responsibly to child sexual abuse. The program believes and teaches that child safety is an adult's job.
This training is offered using a virtual platform at $10 per participant. Your $10 includes a workbook, personal resources for better protecting children, CEU Certificate for 2.0 hours, and sustains this training for others to be trained.
Upcoming trainings:
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Positive Parenting Program |
Triple P Selected Seminar Series is an introduction to the strategies of positive parenting and Triple P. Parents attend any number of three 90-minute seminars (Power of Positive Parenting; Raising Confident, Competent Children; and Raising Resilient Children).
The Power of Positive Parenting Teen Program is a multi-level system of family intervention for parents of children and adolescents ages 12-16 who have, or are at risk of developing, behavioral or emotional problems.
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Brave children tell their stories. Courageous adults help these children through their trauma and assist them in finding a safe future. Buttons of Bravery represent the journey of one child for a year under the care of Child Advocacy Services. |
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In 2020, Child Advocacy Services CASA Program served 516 children with 198 volunteers dedicating over 7,564 hours. The CAC Program provided 614 forensic interviews and 457 hours of counseling to children and families.
YOU can help us do more by investing in services for children!
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Your copy should address 3 key questions: Who am I writing for? (Audience) Why should they care? (Benefit) What do I want them to do here? (Call-to-Action)
Create a great offer by adding words like "free" "personalized" "complimentary" or "customized." A sense of urgency often helps readers take an action, so think about inserting phrases like "for a limited time only" or "only 7 remaining!"
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