CASA IN-SERVICE TRAINING
Mental Health Stigma and Discrimination Reduction
When:
Tuesday, September 17 at 11:45am-1:15pm
Where:
CASA office in Monterey Park
Facilitator:
Cathy Williamson, Community Service Counselor at LA County Department of Mental Health
Continuing Education Credits:
1.5
To RSVP for CASA In-Services, c
lick
here
.
To download recent In-Service handouts, click
here
.
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EXTERNAL TRAINING
4th Vivian Weinstein Leadership Day Conference: Best Practices in Early Childhood Development:
Monday, September 23 at 9-4:30pm. Follow
link for more info.
Foster Stability to Heal Webinar:
Wednesday, September 25 at 1pm.
Follow
link
to register.
Supporting Foster Youth to and Through College Webinar:
Thursday, October 10 at 1pm.
Follow
link
to register.
For more information on trainings available in the community click
here
.
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DCFS POLICY UPDATES
Interested in staying "in the know" regarding all DCFS policy updates?
Follow this
link
to access their policy manual or sign up for their newsletter.
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BOOK CLUBS
San Fernando Valley Book Club
Where:
CASA's home in Studio City
When:
Tuesday, September 10th at 7pm
We're reading:
"Spilled Milk: Based on a True Story" by K.L. Randis
Coastline Book Club
Where:
CASA's home in Los Angeles
When:
Wednesday, September 18th at 1pm
We're reading:
"There, There" by Tommy Orange
Eastside Book Group
Where:
Children’s Institute in Echo Park
When:
Saturday, September 21 at 10-11:30am
We're Reading
:
“Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind” by Yuval Noah Harari
Want to host a book club?
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CASA CONNECTIONS
Social get-togethers organized by CASAs and for CASAs
Live Music by the Ocean
Where:
Nelson’s at Terranea Re
sort in Rancho Palos Verdes
When:
Saturday, September 7 at 6pm
Note:
Attendance is free. Food and drinks available for purchase. Music provided by Feed the Kitty band.
Want to host a CASA Connection?
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Wine+Art Tickets Available Now!
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As of
September 1
st
, tickets to our 6th Annual Wine+Art event are available to the public! For just $50 enjoy bottomless wine, drinks, food and over 150 pieces of art for auction. This is an incredible deal for an even more incredible cause.
Rally your friends and share your purchase on social media using the event hashtag #wineandartla while this deal lasts. You won’t want to miss this pre-event price. Ticket prices increase to $75 at the door!
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Seeking Wine+Art Food & Beverage Sponsors!
Do you know where to find the best dumplings in LA? Are you loyal to a local distillery? Are you BFFs with the staff at a delicious Indian restaurant? We would love to hear from you! We have a few openings left for food and beverage sponsors to participate in this spectacular event.
Please send recommendations to Kelly Lozo at
klozo@casala.org
or 323.859.2888 x6353
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California Pizza Kitchen x CASA/LA Dining Out Day!
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Thursday, September 5
th
is National Cheese Pizza Day. so join us in a Los Angeles California Pizza Kitchen
takeover
at the following participating locations! Simply mention CASA/LA to your waiter or present the optional flyer physically/digitally (by clicking on the image to the right) to donate 20% of your bill to CASA/LA! On this day only you do not need to present your
Philanthropizza card
for your meal to count.
Locations: Arcadia, Beverly Hills, Brentwood, Century City, Cerritos, Chino Hills, City of Long Beach Rainbow Harbor, Culver City, Downtown LA, Encino, Glendale, Hollywood, Lakewood, Long Beach Marketplace, Manhattan Beach, Marina del Rey, Pasadena, Redondo Beach, Santa Monica, Studio City, Torrance, Valencia, and Westwood
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We invite you to join us on our Justice Jog, But Not Really Virtual Campaign! Who will be the winning team this year?
For over a decade, our friends at GLAALA have planned and executed Justice Jog which has raised over half a million dollars for CASA/LA. This year they are taking a much-deserved break.
This year's month-long campaign kicks off on September 3 thru 30 and is a friendly competition among the legal community (or anyone else who wants to join) to see who can raise the most funds for us so that we can continue our vital advocacy.
Please consider sponsoring, creating a team page or donating directly
here
.
There are some prizes in store for the winning teams!
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You're invited to a screening:
A&E documentary series "The Day I Picked My Parents"
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KidSave would like to extend an invitation to all CASAs to attend the premier of A&E Network’s "
The Day I Picked My Parents
"
documentary series on Thursday, September 5th (7-8:30pm) at the Landmark Theatre in the Westside Pavilion!
The series follows ten foster children who are part of Kidsave's revolutionary
Weekend Miracles
program, as they search to find their forever homes. For the first time in their lives, they have input into their own destiny as they decide where they want to live and who will be their family.
Following the screening, stay for a panel discussion with cast members and other guests. The evening will be hosted by Fox News 11 Anchor and Wednesday’s Child reporter Christine Devine.
RSVP for the screening
here
.
If you can't make it to the screening A&E is scheduled to air the series on September 8th.
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Need help with ETO?
Refer to the updated Advocate Handbook or join us for weekly walk-in ETO clinics Tuesdays 12pm-2pm in our Monterey Park office!
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Baby2Baby
CASA/LA has received a generous donation of “2 the Rescue Bundles” from our partner Baby2Baby. Each bundle contains clothing, blankets, toiletries and some toys. The bundles are arranged by gender and available for the children ages 1-12. These bundles are helpful for a child who has recently moved placements or the child of an expectant/parenting youth. If you are interested in claiming one of these bundles, please contact your advocate supervisor.
Scholarship for Latino Seniors
Hispanic Heritage Foundation (HHF), established by the White House in 1987, is an award-winning nonprofit that identifies, inspires, prepares and positions Latino leaders in the classroom, community and workforce to meet America’s priorities. This year is the 21st Anniversary of their national Youth Awards educational grants program! The Youth Awards program will award students who are the graduating Class of 2020 with up to $3,500 in educational grants to fund their higher education or to a community-based project.
Youth can apply
here
by the deadline, Tuesday, October 15th.
CASA/LA & Better Youth Media Workshop Series
CASA of Los Angeles is teaming up with
Better Youth
to offer a direct service to current and former CASA youth age 14-24. Our first collaboration is the CASA/LA & Better Youth Media Workshop Series, during which youth will have the opportunity to learn how to create digital media, utilize social media platforms to distribute digital content, follow digital safety measures to protect their digital footprint and privacy and more. Participating youth will also be able to attend film screenings, take a tour of professional studio spaces, meet with industry professionals, create a project portfolio for images and video and receive a certificate of completion. The CASA/LA & Better Youth Workshop Series aims to catalyze a community conversation and engage youth in care, their volunteers and mentors in a dialogue about relevant themes pertaining to the foster care experience. Though encouraged, youth are not obligated to attend every session in order to receive the certificate of completion. Email Yara Gharib for more information
ygharib@casala.org
.
On July 26, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) issued a
notice
announcing a new housing opportunity for youth aging out of foster care, called the
Foster Youth to Independence (FYI) Initiative
. The initiative offers housing vouchers, called Tenant Protection Vouchers (TPVs), to public housing authorities (PHAs) to prevent or end homelessness among young adults under the age of 25 who have left or will leave the foster care system.
The vouchers are only available to PHAs that are not already administering the Family Unification Program (FUP). Each PHA that applies is limited to a maximum of 25 vouchers each fiscal year and the vouchers may only be used to provide housing assistance for youth for a maximum of 36 months. Further information on eligibility and application requirements for FYI TPV funding is included in the
notice
. The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors passed a
motion
this week directing the Chief Executive Office Homeless Initiative to identify local eligible PHAs and offer technical assistance to the PHAs willing to apply for and operate the new housing vouchers.
The National Center for Housing and Child Welfare (NCHCW) is hosting a webinar series to provide information on the FYI Initiative. Click
here
for more information and to register for their technical assistance webinars.
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“Sometimes our light goes out, but is blown again into instant flame
by an encounter with another human being.”
―
Albert Schweitzer
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