On this episode, Tracey and Jeff talk about planting seeds of hope for children and how the CASA experience encapsulates this notion. While the CASA journey is one that takes patience, giving hope to children is the goal - because we want kids to not just survive, but thrive! This can be done in small ways, and also larger ways. Consistency is always the key to planting seeds of hope.

On this episode, Tracey and Jeff discussed how every role matters for children who are living in the foster care system. From resource parents to caseworkers, to school personnel to family court judges - and yes, CASA volunteers - every single role matters for a child as they are navigating the rough waters of the child welfare system.

On this episode, we dove into the foundational principals of CASA - ethics and boundaries. Our Advocate Supervisor, Cynthia Jagnanden, joined Jeff this week for a great discussion about why ethics and boundaries so important to the CASA model overall. In this realm, CASA volunteers need to walk a fine line. What are some ways for CASA volunteers to build relationships while maintaining appropriate boundaries within their case? While confidentiality is a major component of the CASA model, what should CASA volunteers do if friends or family ask about their casa? All of this and much more this week!

Our amazing guest this week, Jeanette Yoffe, wrote a fantastic piece in Psychology Today titled "How Stress is Contagious in Trauma-Impacted Families." Overall, this article details the effects of a parent's stress inevitably becoming a child's stress. How can we use the "power of the pause" to handle the stress we feel? How does paying attention to what our body tells us an important aspect of honing in on stressful situations? All of this and much more during this great conversation.

Learn more about Jeanette Yoffe and check out her YouTube channel here for a ton of great resources.

On this episode, Tracey and Jeff talk about understanding the concepts of fight or flight - and they also sprinkle in some freeze and fawn talk. How does trauma impact youth in foster care, and consequently, how do they react when triggered or re-traumatized? Is it fight? Is it flight? How does guilt, shame, and fear come into the equation? We get into it in this episode.

On this episode, Tracey and Jeff discussed autism within the child welfare system and the overall theme of individuals who live with autism on a daily basis. As we move forward, we continue to learn more and more about autism and how to communicate effectively with those living with the diagnosis. How does this impact children and families who have individual of all ages with autism? How do individuals with autism respond or not respond to situations within their daily lives? It's a great episode!

This week, Jeff sat down with Anika Beckford and Ebony Lenard from the Pathways to Academic and Career Exploration to Success (PACES) program at Embrella here in New Jersey. Jeff, Anika, and Ebony discussed what the objectives of PACES are, and the challenges they have seen with youth and career development over the years. How are they helping to bridge the gap? They also touched on positive stories and outcomes from the PACES program.

On this episode, Tracey and Jeff discussed how critical the relationships with biological parents are as youth navigate through the foster care system. Often times, mom and/or dad are often a second thought, but the goal for us here CASA is always reunification with the biological parents, if possible. Embracing biological parents through a trauma informed lens is always important.