PULASKI COUNTY FRIENDS OF CASA INC
3001 WEST ROOSEVELT ROAD, LITTLE ROCK, AR 72204 pulaskicountycasa.org

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Organizations Filed Purposes: Pulaski County Friends of CASA, Inc. develops and supports a court-sanctioned community-based program that provides trained and supervised volunteers to advocate for the best interests of abused and neglected children involved in juvenile court dependency proceedings.

. For the year ended December 31, 2019, CASA accomplished its mission through the following programs: (i) Volunteer Training is a curriculum developed by the National CASA Association level to prepare volunteer trainees from all education and experience levels to advocate for the best interest of abused and neglected children. The curriculum consists of 30 hours of in-class instruction, 6 hours of actual court observation and 4 hours of family team meeting observations. The curriculum teaches everything from education advocacy and family strengths to cultural competencies and working with older youth. Volunteers are required to attend no less than 12 hours of In-Service Training each year after their first year of service. Topics vary and are selected by needs assessed by CASA program staff. Each aspect of the training curriculum ensures a volunteer is equipped to manage their investigation and report preparation after being sworn in as an advocate. CASA Advocates are also offered additional training through a yearly retreat and attending the Arkansas State CASA Conference that is held each fall.(ii) Education advocacy is an intricate part of Pulaski and Perry Counties framework to ensure the specialized needs of children in foster care are properly addressed. Advocates are trained to identify and address impediments to education such as learning disabilities, misdiagnosis, and other special needs. Advocates are trained in the Federal and State Laws impacting childrens educational needs and services. Advocates participate in educational meetings such as IEPs and court hearings advocating for the needs necessary to produce the best outcomes for children. Advocates are encouraged to attend specialized training in other areas of child development such as ACEs (Adverse Childhood Experiences), trauma informed approaches to case management, child-parent psychotherapy and other related topics.(iii) Fostering Futures is a curriculum developed by the National CASA Association and designed to give volunteers a solid base of knowledge and skills to advocate on behalf of youths between the ages of 12 and 18. The training provides an in-depth exploration of topics such as relationship building with older youths, the possible selves concept, and working with youths as partners in transition and independent living planning. This type of training has and continues to be effective in supporting youths that emancipate from foster care. A new staff position, added October 1, 2019, focuses on permanent placement of youth that are 15 years of age or older and have been in the system for more than 36 months. The CASA Youth Specialist works in conjunction with the DCFS Adoption Unit and other community partners to find placement options conducive to permanency for this segment of our youth. The permanency options focus on our teenagers developing independent living skills and a plan for aging out of the system successfully, if other placement options are not identified.(iv)The Court Improvement Team consists of Pulaski County Friends of CASA, Inc. staff, DCFS, attorneys and other related parties and led by one of our judges to address issues that affect the operation of the courts in dependency related cases. Team members make recommendations for improvement, address various scenarios and other topics that will help to improve the outcomes for children and families that are navigating the foster care system.

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