Murray/Whitfield CASA Pre-Service training is laid out over ten content-packed classes! Trainees attend one 3.5 hour class each week, and complete 2-5 hours of “homework” on their own between each class, which includes a mix of reading, webinars, activities and sitting in Juvenile Court to observe the proceedings, and get a feel for how court works.

Our goal for CASA Pre-Service training is to give you as clear a picture as we possibly can of what it’s like to be a CASA- both in terms of what a CASA’s activities look like week-in and week-out, and in terms of the goals, core values, mission and beliefs of the CASA program- so that you can determine if this is the right volunteer opportunity for you.  By the end of training, our hope is that you feel equipped and comfortable to make a totally informed decision about whether to be sworn in and become a CASA volunteer! 

Pre-service training is intentionally set up to take between 5 and 8 hours of your time each week, so that you can also make an honest assessment about whether your current life allows the time required to be an excellent and thorough CASA.  We’re also enthusiastic about allowing you to hear from parents who have been through the process, our professional partners, and real-life current CASAs!

Throughout training, you’ll be constantly supported by staff, who are always available to answer questions, support you in your studies, help process whatever may come up for you, and walk you through court observation.

Here’s the basic outline of training content:

Class 1: Introducing the CASA Volunteer Role

Class 2: The Well-Being of the Child

Class 3: Trauma, Resilience, Communication Skills

Class 4: Mental Health, Poverty, Professional Communication

Class 5: Substance Use Recovery, Working Through Bias

Class 6: Domestic Violence, Inclusivity, Non-Discrimination

Class 7: Educational Advocacy, Older Youth, LGBTQ Youth

Class 8: Darkness 2 Light Training

Class 9: Hearing From Current CASAs, Juvenile Court Judge, DFCS Director, Reunified Parents

Class 10: Wrapping Up

CASA Volunteers are people who want to be deeply involved in whatever we do. We like to roll up our sleeves and dig in. We pull for the underdog. We are curious, and love to be constantly learning. We are empathetic, and love seeking to truly understand the experience of others. We are nonjudgmental, not easily offended, and always open to seeing something we didn’t before. We are respectful. We listen to connect.  We are tenacious, assertively persevering for the best for families no matter what. We are passionate about healthy child development, trauma-recovery, and healing. CASA Volunteers value compassion, humility, learning, healing, families coming back together, children feeling safe in their homes, sincerity, and self awareness. We like to learn new things about the community we’re part of, and we learn constantly from stepping into situations, dynamics and cultures that are unfamiliar to us. We’re problem solvers, who help grow hope and realize potential.

CASA Volunteers are passionate about building a world where every child in our community feels valued, and has what they need to thrive. We envision a world where every family in our community has access to the resources and support they need for stability and success. We envision a world where all our community’s children feel safe, have safe adults to rely on, and know they are cared about. We envision a world where we take accountability for one another, and live in a community that is accepting of and responsive to the needs of everyone, where individual autonomy is respected and valued, and where opportunities are equally accessible to all. 

Doing this work, we get to feel part of our community, feel fulfilled in how we spend our time, learn new skills, build more balanced lives for ourselves, make new friends, connect with neighbors we wouldn’t have, learn to accept others as they are, build compassion, learn about what’s going on in our community, build assertiveness and communication skills, have a sense of belonging, celebrate life’s successes, build strength and motivation, and get out of our comfort zones to broaden our worldview.

• Visit with the child

• Contact with the parents

• Contact with the DFCS case manager

• Conversation with the child’s caregiver

• Contact with one or more providers (could be a phone call/email check-in with the child’s school, a therapist, a treatment provider, a family time supervisor, etc.)

• Case-related meeting (usually there is about one more formal meeting in any given month- a case staffing with DFCS, a court hearing, a Citizen Panel Review, or another meeting where advocacy for the child is required, like an IEP meeting with the school or a virtual meeting about changing the child’s placement, etc.)

• Debrief with your staff supervisor

• 21 years of age or older

• Willing to complete required background checks

• A CASA volunteer cannot be a current foster parent, relative placement for a child in foster care, parent with a currently open DFCS case, employee of DFCS, employee of Juvenile Court, or employee of any DFCS contractor

• Sincerely care for the well-being of children and families struggling in our community

• Have good verbal & written communication skills

• Have the ability to be objective & non-judgmental

• Be available to attend court hearings and other case-related meetings

• Local and state criminal background check

• 3 references

• Sex offender registry check

• Social Security Number verification

• DFCS history check

Please note that a history of DFCS/Juvenile Court involvement or of criminal convictions or charges does not automatically disqualify you from CASA service. We will consider the circumstances of each and determine together whether you may be approved by DHS as eligible to work within Georgia's child welfare system.

Any applicant found to have been convicted of, or having charges pending for a felony or misdemeanor involving a sex offense, child abuse or violent assault, who would pose risks to children or the CASA program’s credibility will not be accepted.

An applicant will be rejected by the CASA program if they refuse to sign a release of information form or submit the required information or fingerprints for any of the checks required by the program.