NCJ Number
178500
Date Published
1998
Length
24 pages
Annotation
The National Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) Association has an ongoing commitment to support superior quality training for volunteers who work with abused and neglected children in local programs.
Abstract
Although CASA's national training curriculum has been successfully implemented in many programs, the process of revising the national training curriculum was initiated in 1998 to ensure the curriculum meets the needs of the CASA program network. A survey was conducted to gather information about the effectiveness and strengths of current training materials and needed changes. Responses were received from 373 program staff in 47 states and from 349 volunteers in 42 states. Many program staff and volunteers said the national training curriculum is effective and provides an opportunity to practice skills. Respondents also indicated that a case-based practical focus is important in training volunteers, a more streamlined and interactive curriculum is needed, and training materials should be tailored to local area needs and legal issues. Detailed survey findings are presented with respect to training media, satellite training, in-service training, improvements in volunteer training and preparation, and the changing role of CASA volunteers. Implications of the findings for the development of a revised national training curriculum are discussed. The survey form used to evaluate the need for a revised curriculum is included. 4 figures