The Texas Bar Foundation recently awarded a grant totaling $10,000 to support Texas CASA’s upcoming Collaborative Family Engagement Symposium.
The CFE Symposium: CFE for All is a momentum building, learning event that features interactive and experiential activities, intra-program networking, and presentations from guest speakers – all to support the growth and sustainability of Collaborative Family Engagement (CFE).
CFE is Texas’ team-based approach between local CASA programs and Child Protective Services (CPS), Community-Based Care contractors, and other child welfare professionals to engage, find and work with family members and fictive kin in the creation and development of a lifetime network for young people in the foster care system. CFE provides creative tools for CASA volunteers and caseworkers to use with the child, parent or relative to learn about who they identify as important people to them, and to more fully hear their voice and story.
The grant will be used to support the two-day symposium and help strengthen CFE implementation and growth statewide.
“CFE is all about connections and relies on the CFE teams to work together to explore potential positive connections identified by the family,” said Vicki Spriggs, CEO of Texas CASA. “The CFE Symposium is our opportunity to bring together everyone involved in CFE statewide to learn and grow together.”
The event will also focus on celebrating eight years of implementation and reaching 100% of statewide rollout in the CASA network, as well as strategizing for the work yet to come.
Since its inception in 1965, the Texas Bar Foundation has awarded more than $24 million in grants to law-related programs. Supported by members of the State Bar of Texas, the Texas Bar Foundation is the nation’s largest charitably-funded bar foundation.
“We are grateful for the Texas Bar Foundation’s support of this important work,” said Spriggs. “The generous grant will allow us to create a more impactful event that will give participants the tools they need to better support family engagement, and ultimately, children in foster care.”
Join us in thanking the Texas Bar Foundation for their support of CASA, children and families!
For more information on becoming a CASA volunteer and other ways you can get involved, visit www.BecomeACASA.org.