2024 Texas CASA Conference
2024 Texas CASA Conference:
All Aboard: Mapping Uncharted Waters
We are excited to bring back the full, 3-day Texas CASA Conference, October 23-25 in Galveston! As a network, we are working to understand and adjust to the changes happening in the child welfare system. This year’s conference All Aboard: Mapping Uncharted Waters is an opportunity for us to come together to learn from those who work with and are involved in child welfare in many capacities to discover how to best ride the waves of the changing system.
View the workshops and speakers below! Be sure to check back for updates!
Wednesday, October 23 | 1:00 – 4:30 PM
CFE, Beyond Engagement: CFE for All Ages and Stages
You know and understand the ‘why’ of Collaborative Family Engagement (CFE). You found the family, you even engaged with them, now what? It’s time then to take your CFE work to the next level, with this interactive and informative institute: CFE, Beyond Engagement: CFE for All Ages and Stages. Join us we dive into using CFE in all areas of programmatic management, volunteer advocacy and case practice with children of all ages, across all stages of their case and your CASA involvement.
Featuring Candice Dosman, Advocacy Initiatives Director, Texas CASA, and the CFE Team
Dual Institute: Part 1 – Trauma-Informed Advocacy and Education for the Child, Advocate, Placement, and Community; Part 2 – Going Deeper: Charting the Waters to Successful Faith-Based Partnerships
Part 1 – TBRI: This workshop will share the experience of Child Advocates of Montgomery County’s implementation of Trust-Based Relational Intervention®. Participants will learn about the impact of trauma on the brains and bodies of children and how it impacts behaviors. Participants will learn strategies to empower children and their families, which results in decreased negative behaviors.
Part 2 – Faith-based Partnerships: Learn about the Clergy, CASA and Community initiative and state-level faith partnerships, and how to implement it in your area. Attendees will develop an understanding of how to measure partnership growth and development through CCC and the Volunteer Ownership Cycle.
TBRI: Featuring Ann Marie Rosman, MSN, RN, President & CEO, CASA Child Advocates of Montgomery County & Jennifer Reitmeyer, TBRI and Community Education Director, CASA Child Advocates of Montgomery County
Faith-based: Featuring Keri McDonald, Texas CASA Faith-based Liaison and Patty Pisklak, Executive Director, CASA of West Texas
Pre-Session Legislative Advocacy Training
This training will include discussions of effective legislative advocacy, child welfare trends, current hot policy topics, and legislative priorities for the 89th Legislative Session.
Featuring Sarah Crockett, Public Policy Director, Texas CASA & Stephanie Battaglia, Public Policy Specialist, Texas CASA
Dual Institute: Part 1 – Charting the Four I’s: Precision Note-Taking in Child Advocacy; Part 2 – Together We Can!
Part 1 – In the ever-changing seas of child welfare, precise navigation is key. This dynamic 90-minute workshop introduces the Four I’s method as your compass for effective note-taking. Learn to chart a clear course through complex cases and teach others to do the same. Discover how to map the uncharted waters of each unique child’s story with accuracy and insight. Leave equipped with a new set of navigation tools to guide your team through the challenges of documentation in child advocacy. Join Optima’s “Cruise Director” Robert Hahn to transform how your program can capture, utilize, and share critical information, ensuring no important detail is left adrift.
Part 2 – Brad Ray joins the Texas network of CASA programs again to revisit our urgent need for all children in the Texas foster care system to have a CASA advocate. He will not only share out a review of the insights gleaned and strategies developed since our first Together We Can! meeting in January 2024, but will also lead participants through engaging discussion that inspires programs to envision, imagine, and evolve in the face of changing and challenging times.
Featuring Bray Ray, Texas CASA Consultant and Rob Hahn, Evinto Solutions
Thursday, October 24 | 9:00 – 10:30 AM
Opening General Session
Cindy Dyar speaks to a panel of parents with lived experience.
Featuring Cindy Dyar, Director of the Family Defense Project, Texas Rio Grande Legal Aid, Inc. and a panel of parents
Thursday, October 24 | 11:15 AM – 12:30 PM
How Can CASA Better Collaborate with Parents’ Attorneys
Learn best practices for working effectively with parents’ attorneys as well as ways CASA can support parents in their efforts towards reunification.
Featuring Cindy Dyar, Director of the Family Defense Project, Texas Rio Grande Legal Aid, Inc
Learning from Lived Experience: Maria’s Journey: Becoming Someone’s Daughter
A personal account of my experience in foster care, finding connections with non-relatives and healing through those connections.
Featuring Maria McCord, CFE Coach, Texas CASA
The Future of Foster Care: Texas Child-Centered Care (T3C) System
Texas Child-Centered Care, or T3C, represents a complete transformation of the foster care system. It is the result of a multi-year effort directed by the Texas Legislature, supported by DFPS in collaboration with the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC), and guided by countless residential childcare providers and other child welfare stakeholders.
T3C replaces the Service Level System, with a universal child assessment tool and placement process, twenty-four clearly defined Service Packages and three Add-On Services, new fully funded rate methodology, and new opportunities to claim federal funds for foster care services. Come learn more about this transformative effort from those leading the state’s implementation of the T3C System
Featuring Kaysie Taccetta, Texas Child Centered Care Project Manager, DFPS
Understanding the ICPC (Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children) Process and Finding Out of State Placements
Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children (ICPC) can be an extremely confusing path to permanency for a child, but it doesn’t have to be. This workshop will give you a basic understanding on how the ICPC process works and help you feel more confident about looking at permanency options outside of the State of Texas.
Featuring Rene Blake, Team Lead ICPC Deputy Compact Administrator, DFPS
Thursday, October 24 | 2:00 – 3:15 PM
Advocacy and Supports for Older Youth in Care
Build your skills on successfully working with Transition Age Youth and young adults, including the various benefits and programs they are eligible for to help support their successful transitions to adulthood.
Featuring Todd Serpico, Division Administrator of Transitional Living Services, DFPS
DFPS Efforts for Children Without Placement (CWOP)
DFPS gives an overview of efforts, challenges, and successes related to reducing the number of youth without placement.
Featuring Audrey O’Neill, Deputy Commissioner of Programs, DFPS & Jennifer Sims, Deputy Commissioner for Operations, DFPS
CASA Advocacy for Dual Status Youth, Learning from Lived Experience
Studies show that youth in foster care are disproportionately represented in the juvenile and criminal justice systems. CASA advocacy for dual-status youth can effectively be the critical linchpin to facilitating the two systems working together in a way that supports healing and positive outcomes for youth. Join us for a look at the juvenile justice system and to hear directly from former dual-status youth what we can do to make that critical difference with CASA advocacy for the children and youth we serve.
Featuring Anna McDonnell, CFE Implementation Specialist, Texas CASA & Leslie Cocke, Advocacy Development Specialist, Texas CASA
Why Reasonable Efforts Matter
“Why Reasonable Efforts Matter” will cover federal and state law on reasonable efforts and the bills passed during the Texas 88th Regular Legislative Session that affect reasonable efforts findings relevant to CASA volunteers, supervisors, and program directors. The information provided will enable CASA participants to understand the purpose and effect of reasonable efforts legislation on both the state and federal level.
Featuring Renée Castillo-De La Cruz, Staff Attorney, Texas Children’s Commission
Thursday, October 24 | 4:00 – 5:15 PM
Baiting the Hook: Recruiting in Diverse Communities
Texas is rich with diversity in its communities. Each community embodies different needs and resources. In this workshop, we explore how to recognize your community in order recruit quality volunteers to best serve our children.
Featuring Jerid Watson, Community Engagement Director, CASA for Kids of East Texas
Using the MSL Lens and Holley Factors to Guide Your Advocacy
The MSL, Minimum Sufficient Level of care, standard serves as a crucial anchor that can prevent us from drifting into biases and our natural tendencies to rely on personal experiences. This workshop is designed to help you understand and effectively apply the MSL standard and Holley Factors in your advocacy, decision-making, and recommendations to the court. Join us to unpack the parameters of the MSL and Holley Factors, practice powerful questions, and learn how to use an MSL lens.
Featuring Lisa Briggs, Advocacy Development Manager and Andrea March, Legal Resource Specialist, Texas Rio Grande Legal Aid
Community-Based Care in Texas
Community-Based Care (CBC) is Texas’ foster care model and allows local communities to meet children’s and their families’ unique and individual needs by tapping into the strengths and resources of each community. CBC currently serves about one-half of Texas, geographically, and about a quarter of the children who are in state custody. Join us to learn about the implementation of CBC in Texas and about how Texas is moving this work forward.
Featuring Stephanie Muth, DFPS Commissioner and Hollie Mims, Operations and Stakeholder Engagement Director for the Community-Based Care Operations Division, DFPS
Texas CASA ACT (Anti-Child Trafficking): It is more than see something, say something.
The Texas CASA Anti-Child Trafficking Act program focuses on equipping Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) staff and volunteers with knowledge and skills to effectively identify, support, and advocate for children who are at risk of or are victims of human trafficking. Attendees will be able to define child sex trafficking and learn the signs. They will also hear the statistical data on sex trafficking within the child welfare system and why youth in the child welfare system are at a higher risk for sex trafficking.
Featuring Rhonda Kuykendall, Anti-Child Trafficking Consultant for Texas CASA and Tally Stocks, Partnership Manager, Allies Against Slavery
Friday, October 25 | 9:00 – 11:00 AM
Closing General Session
Featuring Sixto Cancel, CEO and Founder, Think of Us, & Commissioner Stephanie Muth
Sixto Cancel is a nationally recognized leader driving systems change in child welfare, working across tech, service delivery, research and data, and state and federal policy to improve outcomes for youth and families. He has a proven track record of mobilizing cross-sector partnerships and lived-expertise to drive effective innovation at the local, state, and federal levels to solve both entrenched and emergent challenges.
DFPS Commissioner Stephanie Muth began her tenure at DFPS on January 2, 2023, bringing with her more than 20 years of government experience. She held senior executive-level positions in Texas Health and Human Services departments for more than 15 years, where she served as director of external relations, chief of staff, deputy over social services eligibility, and Texas State Medicaid director.
Thanks to our 2024 Conference Sponsors!
