Training CASA volunteers about LGBTQ+ best practices related to youth and families can be challenging. To empower CASA trainers to facilitate important conversations that maximize the feeling of safety for participants and advance the permanency, connections and well-being of LGBTQ+ youth in foster care, Texas CASA is thrilled to partner with seasoned facilitator Catelyn Devlin for a workshop on March 21 at 10:00 a.m. Devlin will dive into the best practices for facilitating pre-service training content related to LGBTQ+ advocacy and will discuss how facilitators can:
- Empower their class participants to feel more comfortable discussing LGBTQ+ best practices
- Prime and frame conversations with helpful tools and information on the relevancy and importance of covering LGBTQ+ best practices in training
- Respond in the moment to comments on LGBTQ+ issues
- Incorporate CFE and TBRI® to prime and frame conversations.
Additional information in the training will include foundational information and data on LGBTQ+ youth and families, best organizational practices for LGBTQ+ inclusivity, best practices for teaching others how to be safe adults for LGBTQ+ youth and recent changes to child welfare and LGBTQ+ laws, policies and practices.
Catelyn Devlin, LMSW, LCPAA-I (she/her) currently works as the CASA of Tarrant County Director of Grants & Contracts, but prior to this, Catelyn was the CASA of Tarrant County Volunteer Trainer where she created and delivered CASA pre-service training. In addition to training volunteers, Catelyn has also taught social work as an adjunct professor from 2015 to 2022, and since 2013, Catelyn has provided trainings to school districts, social work professionals and local, statewide, and national governmental and non-governmental organizations. Catelyn has lived experience as an LGBTQ+ child welfare professional and currently chairs the Texas LGBTQ+ Foster Youth & Child Welfare Workgroup – a group of child welfare and LGBTQ+ leaders across Texas.