On Saturday, September 17, our Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) Volunteers serving teens and Non-Minor Dependents (NMDs) gathered at our 2024 THRIVE Summit to learn, provide feedback, and help shape future program offerings for the teens and NMDs we serve. Our current strategic plan calls for us to serve deeply and effectively; at Child Advocates, that means doing whatever it takes to ensure our teens and NMDs thrive.
Read below to learn what our THRIVE Summit was like for our CASA Volunteers:
Kicking Off by Fueling Up
We began our day welcoming CASA Volunteers to the Parkmoor Sobrato Center for Nonprofits. As volunteers checked in, they received a packet filled with raffle tickets, swag and our day’s agenda. Volunteers fueled up with bagels and coffee before beginning their training.
Discussing our THRIVE Initiative
With breakfast wrapped up, it was time to head into the conference room. The session opened with a presentation on our teen and NMDs’ needs, the importance of our CASA Volunteers and the development of our THRIVE Initiative, which aims to provide our teens and NMDs with the tools they need to successfully transition into independent living.
In the presentation, Child Advocates CEO, Frederick, and Initiatives Lead, Sabrina, detailed the work we’ve done to date on our THRIVE Initiative.
In 2022, we began investigating NMD outcomes. We learned that an overwhelming number of NMDs were prematurely exiting foster care. These NMDs were more likely to struggle with mental health issues, be teen parents, face housing insecurity, substance use and disengagement from available resources compared to their peers. Over the course of the last year we’ve met with countless experts across the country to identify an intervention that could help our NMDs remain in foster care and prepare them for independent living – not just survive but thrive.
Our CASAs got to hear firsthand all that we learned and what we plan to do as we begin developing our THRIVE intervention.
Feedback and Recommendations
After the presentation, CASAs gathered in groups for hands-on work. In each group, CASA Volunteers offered their feedback and recommendations for our THRIVE Initiative. Some of their recommendations included offering our youth musical experiences, such as paying for Spotify subscriptions for our youth and offering our youth financial education.
A Space Youth can Call Their Own
When creating our current strategic plan, we identified the need for a welcoming, culturally responsive, accessible youth lounge where CASAs and youth could gather to study, do homework and learn life skills like cooking and doing laundry. Luckily, a long-time partner and supporter of ours, Sobrato Philanthropies, had a similar idea. They have plans to create a dedicated youth space at their Parkmoor facility. We have since secured the contract to begin designing and developing this space with Sobrato Philanthropies. The “youth space’ aims to create a comprehensive and inclusive space, primarily serving foster and system-involved youth. With a holistic approach, the space will offer various services, from wellness and academic support to vocational training.
Our THRIVE Summit was held at the Parkmoor Sobrato Center for Nonprofits, so that our CASAs could be given a guided tour through the future site of the “youth space”. CASAs were offered a unique opportunity to envision the space’s potential and solicit ideas for onsite programming that best meets the needs of our teens and NMDs.
Some of the ideas CASAs mentioned were:
- Include natural world elements such as plants in the space.
- Make space for therapy dogs to hang out.
- Make sure the space has a more comforting feel rather than institutional.
Lunch and Goodbyes
After a morning of learning, collaborating and brainstorming, our CASAs gathered one last time for lunch. Throughout lunch, each group leader shared their input and group feedback on the day’s discussion.
Thank you to everyone who made this summit possible, through collaborative work like this, we can continue LIFTING UP our teens and NMDs..
“CASA Volunteers are powerful when they work together. ” – CEO, Frederick Ferrer
Fun group picture of CASA Volunteers and staff.