Welcome to the Praesidium Academy!
You play a vital role in keeping your CASA program a safe place. At Praesidium Academy, you can learn about proper boundaries, how sexual abuse offenders operate, how to stop sexual abuse and much more.
Choose from the Program Staff or Program Leadership instructions below to learn how to set up an account and take these important online courses. Texas CASA has identified Strongly Recommended Courses and Additional Best Practice Courses for both Program Staff and Program Leadership to help prioritize which courses should be completed.
If you have any questions, please contact support@praesidiuminc.com or 817-801-7773.
Program Staff
Enrollment Instructions for Program Staff
- Go to https://www.praesidiumacademy.com/redeem/reg-texascasa-512-programstaff
- Fill in your contact information including First Name, Last Name, Email Address, and desired Password.
- Click the checkbox to agree to the Terms & Conditions.
- Click Register.
- Write down your user login and password for future reference.
- Answer the Registration Questions about your status and role within the organization.
- Click Save & Continue.
- To begin taking training immediately, scroll down and click a course to start the content.
Strongly Recommended Courses
* Denotes course available in Spanish
Abuse Risk Management (includes Meet Sam and It Happened to Me courses)
Volunteers give their precious time to their organization to serve others. They need to know how to protect those they serve from abuse.
Participants learn:
- The facts about sexual abuse
- Steps they can take to keep kids safe
- How to protect themselves from false allegations of abuse
Duty to Report: Mandated Reporter*
Adults have a moral responsibility—and in many cases a legal responsibility—to report suspected child abuse or neglect.
Participants learn:
- Why reporting is critical
- What their legal obligation is to report
- What types of conduct must be reported
- How to report
- How to respond if a child discloses abuse or neglect
Monitoring Youth Safety in Foster Care Environments
As a foster care worker in your organization, you share responsibility for protecting the youth your organization serves. Part of that responsibility involves conducting home visits, talking with youth about their lives, and asking them important questions to ensure their safety.
Participants learn:
- Importance of regularly asking questions that assess abuse risk
- Types of questions to ask that assess for adult-to-youth abuse and youth-to-youth abuse
- Non-verbal cues to observe
Social Media Safety*
Social media increases opportunities for sexual abusers to communicate with their intended victims.
Participants learn:
- The different types of abuse risks that organizations face
- How to educate parents and youths on healthy social media use
- How to protect themselves from false allegations of abuse
- How to respond to warning signs and incidents of abuse
Additional Best Practice Courses
Preventing Sexual Activity between Young Children* (includes Preventing Bullying)
Statistics show that incidents of sexual acting out between children have increased 300% in recent years.
Participants learn:
- How – and where – sexual activity between children typically occurs
- Steps to prevent sexual activity between children
- How to respond if sexual activity between children occurs
Preventing Sexual Activity between Adolescents
When adolescents bully or act out sexually with one another, these behaviors not only violate policy, they can become abusive.
Participants learn:
- What peer pressure and bullying can do to influence sexual behavior in adolescents
- Where sexual behavior between adolescents is likely to occur
- Steps they can take to prevent sexual activity between adolescents
- How to respond if sexual activity between adolescents occurs
Program Leadership
Enrollment Instructions for Program Leadership
- Go to https://www.praesidiumacademy.com/redeem/reg-texascasa-512-programleadership
- Fill in your contact information including First Name, Last Name, Email Address, and desired Password.
- Click the checkbox to agree to the Terms & Conditions.
- Click Register.
- Write down your user login and password for future reference.
- Answer the Registration Questions about your status and role within the organization.
- Click Save & Continue.
- To begin taking training immediately, scroll down and click a course to start the content.
Strongly Recommended Courses
* Denotes course available in Spanish
Safety Equation Series
The Praesidium Safety Equation® is the foundation for all of Praesidium’s abuse-prevention work. This set of nine courses provides individual focus on each operation of the Safety Equation: Policies, Screening and Selection, Training, Responding, Monitoring and Supervision, Consumer Participation and Administrative Practices. Texas CASA strongly recommends first completing the following courses within the series:
- Policies
- Screening and Selection*
- Training
- Responding
Additional Best Practice Courses
Safety Equation Series Continued
Texas CASA additionally recommends the reviewing the remaining courses within the Safety Equation Series:
- Monitoring and Supervision
- Internal Feedback Systems
- Consumer Participation
- Administrative Practices
Getting Your Board on Board
As a member of the Board of Directors, the ultimate responsibility for the protection of children in your organization rests with you. You establish policy, monitor compliance with policy, allocate resources for safety, and by your very presence, vouch that your organization is a safe place for children.
Participants Learn:
- Effects of abuse
- Types of offenders
- Programs at high risk
- Five steps board members can take to increase safety
Helpful Tips
1. Right Place, Right Time
Set the right conditions for learning. Create an environment with no interruptions, no phone calls, and no distractions. Set aside 30-45 minutes for each course so you do not have to hurry.
2. Take Your Time
Have patience and take your time. Read carefully to make sure you fully understand the content. Rather than rushing through the training, plan to complete only one or two courses each time you login so you can really absorb what you have learned. If you need to pause and continue training later, the course will start again from the section where you last left off.
3. Follow the Arrows
When it is time to move to the next page, an arrow will appear at the bottom right corner. When prompted, click the arrow to move forward.
4. Think About It
Finally, pause and think about what you are learning. Throughout the course, think about how you can apply what you are learning to your own position. We know that with proper concentration you can understand and apply what you learn.