External Webinars & Videos

Annie E. Casey Foundation

Annie E. Casey is recognized as an industry leader in studying and collecting data relating to child welfare, foster care, and family preservation, with a strong focus on promoting the voices of those with first-hand experience. They use their data collection to help build best practice policy and practices, and they have an extensive archive of webinars on their website. Here is just a sampling of some webinars to start with:

• How the COVID-19 Pandemic Impacted Young Parents With Foster Care Experience (1 hour)

• Panelists Share Insights in Evaluating Two-Generation Approaches (1 hour)

• Strategies for Helping Young Fathers (1 hour)

• The Unlearning of Child Welfare: Webinar Series Explores How to Rebuild the Child Welfare Series (3 part series, 1 hour each, for total of 3 hours)

• Using the Family First Act to Help Families With Substance Use Disorders (1 hour)

Many more on website.

Center for the Study of Social Policy

The Center for the Study of Social Policy has an amazing library of written issue briefs that they publish monthly, as well as webinars. These offerings apply new research and field-tested best practices to discuss emerging trends and reform opportunities in the child welfare system. Here are some webinars to start with:

• Policy Recommendations to Achieve Racial Equity in Child Welfare ( 1 hr. 15 min.)

• Preventing Child Neglect by Building Protective Factors (1 hr.)

• Strengthening Families Through Child Welfare Practice (1 hr.)

• Supporting Permanency for LGBTQ & Gender-Expansive Youth (1 hr 15 min.)

• UpENDing the Child Welfare System: The Road to Abolition (full conference with over 5 hours of content)

Many more on website.

Midwest Regional Children’s Advocacy Center – EduNet

EduNet is a series of free expert lectures on a variety of multidisciplinary topics.  They are archived so you can access them whenever your schedule allows.  Most webinars are 90 minutes and 1.5 hours of continuing education is offered. You can also sign up to get alerts each time a new webinar is added!

Once you have registered for the live webinar, you will receive an email confirming your registration and providing you with a webinar link. Please check your spam folder if you do not receive a confirmation email. A reminder email will also be sent to your inbox 24 hours prior to the live event. Click on the webinar link in either of the above-referenced email messages to access the webinar on the day of the event.

Accessing Archived Webinars (Click here to access the archives)

All EduNet Webinars are recorded and available within 24 hours following the live event. To access the archive simply click on "View the Archived Webinar" and complete the registration form. Following registration you will be directed to the recording and be able to access the webinar immediately. In the case you want to watch it later, you will also receive an email that contains a link to the recording as well as the webinar evaluation. Please check your spam folder if you do not receive a confirmation email. In either scenario you can complete the evaluation, and print a certificate of attendance.

National Children's Advocacy Center

Virtual Training Center - Requires one-time registration to create user ID and password.

Understanding Secondary Trauma & Strategies for Self-Care

Why Parents Don’t Believe

Finding Their Voice: Reasons Children Delay Disclosure of Sexual Abuse and What Factors Assist Children to Report

Foundations in Parent-Child Interaction Therapy

Fractures in Infants and Children: Abuse, Accident, or Brittle Bones?

Grooming: Making You See and Believe What I Want You to See and Believe

It Really Didn’t Happen – Recantations of Child Sexual Abuse

It’s a Crisis for Me Too! Helping Non-Offending Parents in Child Sexual Abuse

Many more on website.

University of Florida Institute for Family Violence Studies, College of Social Work

The Dynamics of Domestic Violence (1.0 hr. credit)

National CASA Archived Trainings

The archived catalog of trainings from 2020 offers rich training material, focusing in on 3 key areas: Diversity, Equity and Inclusion; Permanency & Child Outcomes; and Self-Care.

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion:

• Advocating for Indian Children: ICWA and the Role of CASA/GAL Staff and Volunteer Advocates (2.25 hours)

• Culturally Responsive Child Advocacy (4-part series)

  • Part 1: History of the Child Welfare System (1 hour)

  • Part 2: The Current State and Climate of the Foster Care System (1 hour)

  • Part 3: Understanding Racial Bias and the Impact on Families of Color (1 hour)

  • Part 4: Tools for Closing the Gap (1 hour)

• All Children-All Families: Advocating for LGBTQ Youth (3-part series)

  • Part 1: Setting the Foundation for LGBTQ Inclusion (1.25 hours)

  • Part 2: Advocating for LGBTQ Youth (1.25 hours)

  • Part 3: Advocating for LGBTQ Youth in the Educational System (1.25 hours)

• Strengthening Families Using a Racial Equity Lens (1.25 hours)

Permanency & Child outcomes:

• Advocating for Trafficked and High-Risk Child and Youth Victims (1.5 hours)

• Substance Use Disorders (3-part series)

  • Part 1: An Introduction to Substance Abuse as a Disorder (1 hour)

  • Part 2: A Family-Centered Approach to Understanding Impact (1 hour)

  • Part 3: Substance Use Disorders and Child Welfare (1 hour)

Self-Care

• How to be Resilient in a Pandemic and Beyond (1.5 hours)

Virginia Department of Social Services

Mandated Reporter Training (1.5 hrs. credit)

Upon successful completion of the on-line training, you will be prompted to enter your name which will be included in a certificate of completion which can be saved to your computer and e-mailed to your advocate manager.

Mandated Reporting: Recognizing and Reporting Child Abuse and Neglect

While everyone needs to be concerned about child abuse and neglect, certain professionals and other individuals, including CASA volunteers are required by law to report all suspected cases. This training is designed to help you recognize the signs of child abuse and neglect, to understand the responsibilities and procedures involved in reporting, and to be aware of the associated penalties for failing to report.

Identifying Sex Trafficking Victims in Child Welfare On-line Training (1.5 hrs. credit)

The purpose of this training module is to raise awareness regarding the impact of human trafficking, most notably commercial sex trafficking, on vulnerable youth in foster care, runaways and those experiencing abuse or neglect. Federal and state efforts to combat this problem are outlined along with strategies for local identification and intervention. The course takes approximately 90 minutes to complete and covers the following topics:

• Defining human trafficking

• Defining Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children (CSEC) and Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking (DMST)

• Recognizing at-risk populations

• Distinguishing vulnerabilities of children in the child welfare system

• Identifying victims in the child welfare system

• Developing response plans after identification and providing intervention services

• Defining the Prudent Parent Standard