As a trainer and facilitator, you have a profound opportunity to inspire and educate volunteers so that they serve with the greatest care and skill. The required 30 hours of learning that each volunteer must complete prior to serving as a Court Appointed Special Advocate sets the stage for the volunteer’s experience with your organization, and lays the groundwork for their ability to meet the constantly changing challenges of advocacy. As a facilitator of pre-service training, you build the most important relationship with new volunteers before they serve a child.
Your passion will ignite the passion of prospective volunteers. We have created this guide to help you develop the skills you need to become a stellar guide and to provide a clear roadmap for each session.
Table of Contents
Click on one of the eight chapters below to jump to the facilitator’s guide section, PowerPoint slides and handouts for that chapter.
Preface: The Art of Facilitation (PDF)
Session 1: The CASA/GAL Volunteer Role
Session 2: The Well-Being of the Child
Session 3: Trauma, Resilience and Communication Skills
Session 4: Mental Health, Poverty and Confidentiality
Session 5: Substance Abuse, Diversity and Disproportionality
Session 6: Domestic Violence, Bias and Cultural Competence
Session 7: Educational Advocacy, Older Youth and LGBTQ Youth
Session 8: Moving Forward as an Advocate
ADDITIONAL MATERIALS
Sample Documents(PDF)
Download the Complete Facilitator Guide
SESSION 1: THE CASA/GAL VOLUNTEER ROLE
Below, find a list of downloadable facilitator materials, handouts and videos for the first training session. Associated volunteer pre-work for session 1 may be found here.
Materials
Handouts in english
Handouts in Spanish
Videos
Plus
- Copies of your program’s policies and procedures, emphasizing the dos and don’ts for volunteers.
- Your program’s Volunteer Advocate Job Description
- Your program’s Court Report Template and Court Report Instructions.
SESSION 2: THE WELL-BEING OF THE CHILD
Below, find a list of downloadable facilitator materials, handouts and videos for the second training session. Associated volunteer pre-work for session 2 may be found here.
Materials
Handouts in english
Handouts in Spanish
videos
SESSION 3: TRAUMA, RESILIENCE AND COMMUNICATION SKILLS
Below, find a list of downloadable facilitator materials, handouts and videos for the third training session. Associated volunteer pre-work for session 3 may be found here.
Materials
Handouts in english
Handouts in Spanish
Videos
SESSION 4: MENTAL HEALTH, POVERTY AND CONFIDENTIALITY
Below, find a list of downloadable facilitator materials, handouts and videos for the fourth training session. Associated volunteer pre-work for session 4 may be found here.
Materials
Handouts in english
Handouts in Spanish
Plus
- Copies of your program’s guidelines around documentation and/or utilizing Optima.
SESSION 5: SUBSTANCE ABUSE, DIVERSITY, AND DISPROPORTIONALITY
Below, find a list of downloadable facilitator materials, handouts and videos for the fifth training session. Associated volunteer pre-work for session 5 may be found here.
Prior to facilitating this session, find out which drugs are commonly abused in your community by researching the topic online or talking to caseworkers about the drugs they see most often in their work with families. Be ready to share this information in class by creating a handout about locally abused drugs or adding the information to the Chapter 5 PowerPoint presentation. If your program doesn’t already have a list of substance abuse treatment resources in your community, consider preparing a handout with organizations’ names, contact information and details about the services they provide.
Additionally, research local statistics about the demographics of children in care to determine whether disproportionality exists in the child protective services system where you live. Consider checking with your local child protective services agency to see if they have demographic information for children in care in your local area. Be ready to share the information you found about disproportionality in your state and local area in class.
Materials
Handouts in english
Handouts in Spanish
videos
SESSION 6: DOMESTIC VIOLENCE, BIAS AND CULTURAL COMPETENCE
Below, find a list of downloadable facilitator materials, handouts and videos for the sixth training session. Associated volunteer pre-work for session 6 may be found here.
Materials
Handouts in english
Handouts in Spanish
Plus
- Prepare a handout of domestic violence resources in your community, including the names of organizations, their contact information and information about the services they provide (for use during activity 6A).
- Create a handout featuring a list of resources in your community that can help participants increase their cultural competence (for use during activity 6F part 2).
Videos
SESSION 7: EDUCATIONAL ADVOCACY, OLDER YOUTH AND LGBTQ YOUTH
Below, find a list of downloadable facilitator materials, handouts and videos for the seventh training session. Associated volunteer pre-work for session 7 may be found here.
Materials
Handouts in english
Handouts in Spanish
Videos
SESSION 8: MOVING FORWARD AS AN ADVOCATE
Below, find a list of downloadable facilitator materials, handouts and videos for the final training session. Associated volunteer pre-work for session 8 may be found here.
Materials
Handouts in english
Handouts in Spanish
Additional Preparation
To help trainees get a full picture of the CASA volunteer experience, consider inviting a panel of experienced volunteers to share their perspectives during Activity 8D of this final session. Be sure to prepare the guest speakers ahead of time with the specific topics you would like them to cover, including:
- Receiving a case assignment.
- Meeting a child.
- Assessing a child’s needs.
- Building a relationship with caseworkers, attorneys and other professionals.
- Working with parents and engaging family members.
- Following a case as it progresses.
- Making recommendations in court (or, generally, how to act/speak up in court).
- How to persevere when times get tough.
- How to stay on top of documentation.
- How to maintain emotional boundaries and practice self-care.
