In this month’s episode, Texas CASA CEO Vicki Spriggs has an in-depth discussion with Andrea Bright-Fontana, American Sign Language (ASL) Interpreter and foster/adoptive parent, about Deaf and Hard of Hearing children and the unique challenges they face in the foster care system.

Andrea has worked professionally as an ASL Interpreter for almost 20 years. She and her husband have been foster parents for the last 7 years, and have adopted 3 Deaf daughters. Since becoming a foster parent, she has recognized the need for more education in the interpreting field related to Child Protective Services (CPS) and working with children who have experienced trauma.

To learn more about the Deaf community and access resources, check out the Texas School for the Deaf Statewide Outreach Center.

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Conversations with CASA – Supporting Deaf & Hard of Hearing Children

In this month’s episode, Texas CASA CEO Vicki Spriggs has an in-depth discussion with Andrea Bright-Fontana, American Sign Language (ASL) Interpreter and foster/adoptive parent, about Deaf and Hard of Hearing children and the unique challenges they face in the foster care system. Andrea has worked professionally as an ASL Interpreter for almost 20 years. She and her husband have been … Read More

Conversations with CASA – Taking Action Against Child Trafficking

In this episode of Conversations with CASA, Texas CASA CEO Vicki Spriggs talks with Candice Dosman, Texas CASA Collaborative Family Engagement Director, and Rhonda Kuykendall, our new Anti-Child Trafficking (CASA ACTs) Consultant. Rhonda and Candice are currently working to further develop best practices for local programs to be active stakeholders in their local anti-trafficking community, and to develop a framework … Read More

Conversations with CASA – Connecting People with the Help They Need

Texas CASA CEO Vicki Spriggs has an in-depth conversation with Erine Gray, Founder and CEO of findhelp/findhelp.org, a safe tool to search for food, housing, health and other free and reduced-cost programs near you, anytime. findhelp.org is a search engine that is open to the public, anonymous and easy to use so that anyone can find help and connect with programs in … Read More

Conversations with CASA – Engaging Young People in Advocating for Change with Fedora Galasso

For this episode of Conversations with CASA, we welcomed Fedora Galasso, Executive Director of the Texas Network of Youth Services (TNOYS). In addition to discussing her career before joining TNOYS in August 2020, Texas CASA CEO Vicki Spriggs and Fedora talk about TNOYS’s three-pillar approach to advocating for positive change: Policy, Practice and Partnerships. They dive deeper into the importance … Read More

Conversations with CASA – Young Adult Pandemic Aid (PanAid)

In this episode of Conversations with CASA, Texas CASA CEO Vicki Spriggs is joined by Katy Bourgeois, Vice President of Systems Advancement with the Texas Alliance of Child and Family Services, and Dr. Valerie D. Jackson, Founder and Administrator at Monarch Family Services. Their two organizations are working together to distribute funds to young adults who aged out of foster … Read More