training & education

Training of CASA Volunteers

1. Through a comprehensive 30-hour training program volunteers are equipped with the necessary skills and information to serve as a voice for the child. The areas covered in the training include:
   1. Advocacy
   2. An Introduction to Discovery and Evidence
   3. Child Development and Family Systems
   4. Community Resources for Children
   5. Court Appearances and Testimony
   6. Court Report Writing
   7. Cross-Cultural Issues
   8. Dependency Law and Procedure
   9. Dynamics of Child Abuse and Neglect
   10. Ethics, Confidentiality of Information and Mandated Reporting
   11. Interviewing
   12. Investigation
   13. Permanency Planning
   14. The CASA Concept
   15. The County CASA Program
   16. The Role and Responsibilities of the CASA Volunteer
   17. The Role of the Child Welfare Agency (Department of Human Services - DHS)
   18. The Role of the Juvenile Court and Key Participants
   19. The Role of the Law Enforcement Agencies
   20. Any other subject deemed appropriate by the Executive Director of the CASA of Monterey County program or the juvenile court judge.
2. Each trainee will observe at least one (four hour) morning or afternoon session of juvenile court.
3. A CASA training manual will be provided to each trainee. The manual will incorporate basic materials from the National CASA training manual with supplemental material specific to California and Monterey County.
4. It is required that trainees attend all training sessions. Missed sessions must be made up by attendance at a subsequent session or by viewing videos of prior training if available. Trainees who have missed no more than three sessions may be sworn in with their class but may not be assigned a case until all missed sessions have been made up.
5. Upon completion of training, candidates will participate in a final interview. The purpose of this interview is to allow trainees to evaluate the training to make suggestions to strengthen future training, to allow the program staff to identify the types of cases appropriate for a volunteer, or to allow the program staff to terminate a trainee who has not successfully completed this screening process.