Greetings!
We need your help! Tomorrow is I Am For The Child Day and you can make a difference by raising awareness about child abuse. Watch the message below (opens a new browser) from Green Bay Packer Corey Linsley and his wife, Anna.
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You can join the conversation by wearing blue, making a video sharing "I am for the child because..." and posting online. If you don't have social media,
send your video to us
and we can share for you.
Why wear blue? In 1989, a grandmother made the commitment to always wear a blue ribbon after her grandson was tragically killed. Now, we stand in solidarity with her by wearing blue during Child Abuse Prevention Month.
Last but not least, happy Milwaukee Day! Celebrate together-apart by
watching this powerful video
highlighting Milwaukeeans staying connected through COVID-19 or by watching this recording of
virtual storytime
with Milwaukee writer John Gurda reading classic children's book
Gertie the Duck
.
Thanks for for all you to do to help kids and prevent child abuse. Be MKE strong.
Sue
Susan Conwell, JD
Executive Director
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I
t's Volunteer Appreciation Month and each week this April we will share an interview one of our amazing CASA volunteers! This week, meet CASA Volunteer Debbie Kasle, pictured below picking up activities for her CASA youth, Olivia.*
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Helping Youth Overcome Isolation
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Debbie has advocated for several CASA children over the years and her persistence and commitment extend now to a teenager named Olivia* who was removed from her home at the age of 12. Olivia’s two younger siblings were removed at the same time and placed together, but Olivia was placed separately with a foster mom who was 78 years old.
Olivia looked forward to Saturday visits with her birth mom and two siblings, but her mother frequently canceled the visits, sometimes without warning. On these occasions, Olivia was unable to see her birth mom, but just as upsetting for Olivia was the loss of time with her younger siblings. When Debbie became Olivia’s CASA volunteer, she intervened to ask that the visits continue whether or not the children’s mother was present, so that the sibling group could stay in touch and remain close.
Debbie was also concerned that Olivia did not receive enough stimulation in her placement. Olivia’s foster mom often complained, “She’s just so bored.” At the same time, her foster mom seemed unaware of any outside activities and was unwilling to drive, particularly in bad weather or in the dark. When Debbie got involved, she connected Olivia to after-school activities that she might enjoy, taught her how to take the bus and accompanied her on her first few bus trips. Debbie also invited Olivia to go to the movies and other weekend activities.
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"Debbie is a fighter: one part mom, one part lawyer, one part CASA, and 100% awesome! She is a fierce, but funny, colleague. I love working with her." -Lance Jones, CASA Program Manager
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Debbie’s concern about Olivia’s isolation increased when it affected Olivia’s medical care. Because Olivia’s foster mother did not consistently transport her to medical care, Debbie recalls, “She missed so many therapy appointments.”
Then Olivia broke her leg and required surgery. Debbie visited Olivia and noted her lack of mobility. Debbie was concerned that the foster mom did not seem to have a lot of knowledge about Olivia’s condition or follow-up care. The foster mom thought it would be best to keep Olivia home from school for two weeks following her leg injury. Debbie asked the case manager to intervene to ensure that Olivia could attend school during her healing process. Foster children can experience many educational disruptions and Debbie’s strong advocacy gave Olivia one less disruption as she recovered from her injury.
A Setback
Olivia continued to see her younger siblings on Saturday visits. When a Termination of Parental Rights (TPR) seemed likely, the foster parents of Olivia’s two younger siblings indicated their interest in adopting the two children.
While happy news for this family, Olivia faced the potential of being left without any family at all.
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Thank you to all the CASA volunteers across the country who are making sure foster children feel supported and loved. We are so grateful for the difference you make in the lives of the most vulnerable children in our community. Interested in being a CASA volunteer? Keep scrolling for the dates of our next accelerated virtual CASA training!
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Fun Activities to Connect with Kids: Part 2
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- Start a plant or garden! Drop off a squirt bottle and a couple of planted seeds and have the kids spray them with a water bottle everyday. You can check on the plants together while video chatting.
- Charades: act out words or phrases to each other.
- Coloring: either drop-off or email coloring sheets to kids and then color together over video chat.
- Draw What I Say: One person describes something without saying exactly what it is and the other person draws it.
- Make a playlist of songs for each other
- Create collages from old magazines or junk mail and then tell each other a story based off the collage over video chat
- Become pen pals
- Watch a short film or YouTube video together (e.g. cooking shows or clips of your favorite sports plays).
- If your CASA youth has a phone, play Words With Friends together or other app games.
- Go on a virtual tour together! Here’s 20 places with virtual tours. Or check out our national parks!
- Take a walk outside over video chat. If your kid enjoys science or plants, try identifying trees together! You can each print out a tree identification dichotomous key and identify as many as possible, or you can remember what your favorite tree looks like and then use a website to help identify the tree.
- Mad Libs: Fill in the blanks to create wacky, funny paragraphs. Here are a few printable activities. You can create your own mad libs too!
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Child Care for Essential Workers
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Providing child care to the essential workforce is critical to flattening the curve of COVID-19 in Wisconsin. The Department of Children and Families (DCF) has launched two new tools to help connect essential workforce families to local, safe child care. Healthcare workers and essential employees are now able to submit a
request for care
through the department’s updated Child Care Finder or proactively view up-to-date availability across the state using the new
child care map
.
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CASA Continuing Education Opportunities
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Trauma Basics for Youth Workers
Trauma-informed care has gained significant support in recent years, particularly in regard to youth support and development. This course presents the basic, introductory tenants for how practice and implement trauma-informed care in youth settings. This is a 2-hour/credit course that overviews trauma-informed care; what trauma is, how it impacts learning and the brain, and the core aspect of trauma-informed care every youth worker should know: how to foster interpersonal safety.
Understanding Trauma Bonds Between Traffickers and Their Victims
May 13, 2020 | 1:00 PM - 2:30 PM CT
Trauma bonding is a counter-intuitive phenomenon in which a victim bonds and develops strong positive feelings toward his or her abuser. These bonds are common among sex trafficking victims and affect their ability to identify their own victimization, cooperate with law enforcement investigations, and refrain from going back into the life once they have left. This webinar from the
National Criminal Justice Training Center
will examine the formation of these bonds between traffickers and their victims through case examples, videos, and discussion. Strategies for breaking these bonds and helping victims psychologically separate from their abusers will also be discussed.
Engaging Families in Affirming Trauma-Informed Care for LGBTQ Children and Youth
Research has shown that LGBTQ youth who have family support have better outcomes through their youth and into adulthood. This is especially relevant for LGBTQ youth who have experienced trauma and may face ongoing safety concerns related to their identities. This webinar will outline techniques for engaging families in affirming treatment and care of their LGBTQ youth. Practitioners will examine ways to engage in cultural humility and understanding when engaging families and youth in trauma treatment.
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New Virtual CASA Training
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Do you or someone you know suddenly have extra time at home ? Are you looking for ways to stay connected and learning? Do you want to make a difference? Kids Matter has added an accelerated all-virtual training for badly needed volunteer advocates for local abused and neglected kids. Consider signing up today!
This new Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) volunteer training will be just six afternoon sessions (Mondays and Wednesdays for 3 weeks) from 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM. All classroom training sessions will be held via teleconferencing technology (such as Zoom). You'll need a computer (ideally with a camera) and internet access. The course and all course materials are free.
Accelerated Spring Training Cycle
Monday, April 27 from 1:00 PM to 4:00PM
Wednesday, April 29 from 1:00 PM to 4:00PM
Monday, May 4 from 1:00 PM to 4:00PM
Wednesday, May 6 from 1:00 PM to 4:00PM
Monday, May 11 from 1:00 PM to 4:00PM
Wednesday, May 13 from 1:00 PM to 4:00PM
Applications are now being accepted for a limited number of spaces. Background and reference checks and a personal interview via Zoom are required for all volunteer applicants. If interested, email
volunteer@kidsmatterinc.org
or call 414-344-1220.
You'll be sworn in as a CASA volunteer on May 14th and ready to serve when we get the all clear!
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Are you making plenty of online purchases? Remember if you shop through Amazon Smile, Amazon donates 0.5% of the price of your eligible AmazonSmile purchases to the charitable organization of your choice. Designate Kids Matter Inc. today!
Click here
for easy steps to set up your Amazon Smile account. Thank you.
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