PARTNERING TO ENHANCE YOUTH SERVICES

SALLY WILSON ERNY, NCASA , CHIEF PROGRAM OFFICER

LAURIE JACKSON, NSP, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

National CASA and National Safe Place

National CASA National Safe Place

Together with its state and local members, is to support and promote court-appointed volunteer advocacy so that every abused or neglected child can be safe, establish permanence and have the opportunity to thrive.

Provides access to immediate help and supportive resources for all young people in crisis through a network of sites sustained by qualified agencies, trained volunteers and businesses.

Mission Statements

Natural Partnership Opportunities

There are 90 communities across the country that

have both a CASA and Safe Place program

How Safe Place Works

Outreach and Prevention

Community Accessibility through partnerships

Trained Response

Access to Services

Safe Place Impact on Communities

Youth and their families - More than 250,000 youth have

called or gone to a Safe Place for help

Schools– Each year millions of youth learn about how to get

help through Safe Place

Law Enforcement – Has connected more than 10,000

youth to shelters via Safe Place

Youth service agencies – Safe Place provides connections

with new partners

Businesses and civic partners – Provides meaningful

opportunities to engage in the community

Facts & Stats

Safe Place locations available 16,977

Txt 4 HELP (Oct ’09 – June ’10) 4,058

Safe Place is available in 40 states

140 Safe Place programs are in place for 1,551 communities

Txt 4 Help 24-hour text-for-support service for youth in crisis

“It’s hard to find a kid today who isn’t constantly keeping in touch with their friends and family

through text messages. The Txt 4 Help initiative is an innovative project that harnesses the

popularity and power of texting to give kids instant access to assistance when they need it

most”

Congressman John Yarmuth (KY).

Reasons why youth went to a Safe Place

Family Problems 44%

Runaway 17%

Homeless 12%

Abuse 7%

Locked Out 3%

School Issues 3%

Immediate Safety 2%

Substance Abuse 2%

Mental Health Issues 2%

Neglect, Suicidal or Other 7%

Family Problems

Runaway

Homeless

Abuse

Locked Out

School Issues

Immediate Safety

Substance Abuse

Mental Health Issues

Neglect, Suicidal or Other

Ages of youth seeking help

10 and under 2%

11 2%

12 5%

13 9%

14 15%

15 20%

16 20%

17 19%

18 and older 8% 0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

>10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17

<18

Ages

NSP Services

Consultation and Technical Support

Database Availability and Support

Online Training Opportunities

Outreach Materials for Youth

National Safe Place Week Advocacy Guidelines and Support

Connection to National Corporate Partners

Txt 4 HELP National Texting Project

Evidence based Programming and Evaluation

CASA Program Role of CASA/GAL volunteers

Recruit and screen volunteers

Provide high quality training and supervision

Support volunteers in their efforts on behalf of children

Fact finder

Facilitator

Monitor

Advocate

How CASA Works

CASA Network

46 State Offices and 904 local programs

49 States, District of Columbia and U.S. Virgin Islands

71,000 Volunteers in 2009

Serving 237,095 abused and neglected children

Importance of CASA Volunteers

Low CASA caseloads mean the courts can make better decisions for children.

Complex cases receive more attention so they can move forward in a timely way.

CASA as Evidence-Based Practice

Research shows that CASA advocacy works:

Participant satisfaction

Meeting the need

Better decision-making and increased services for youth.

Low recidivism rates.

Issues of Older Youth in Foster Care

Educational Disadvantages

Homelessness

Incarceration

Mental Health Issues

Fostering Future Initiatives

Customized training curriculum

Advocacy

Youth directed planning

Realizing “possible selves”

National CASA Services

Consultation and support

Training and annual conference

Outreach and communications

Data collection and evaluation

Grants

Quality Assurance

Partnership Goals

Advocate for the safety and well being of youth

Share ideas and resources available to assist youth in crisis

Offer support to each other’s organizations

Partnership Opportunities

Provide information to CASA/GAL program staff and

volunteers about Safe Place as a resource for youth.

Provide Safe Place coordinators with information about

CASA/GAL program.

Provide CASA/GAL program staff with information cards

and resource materials for distribution to CASA youth.

Partnership Opportunities

Share information about volunteer opportunities

Shared training opportunities and resources (ex – NSP

online webinars)

Increase awareness of the services of CASA and NSP

Use national CASA and NSP conference as opportunities to

conduct workshops on each other’s programs

Local Examples

What are ways in which you have already partnered in your local communities?

Wrap-Up

Questions?

Your Facilitators:

Sally Wilson Erny, NCASA , Chief Program Officer

sallye@nationalcasa.org

Laurie Jackson, NSP, Executive Director

ljackson@nationalsafeplace.org