Advocate Resources

Thank you for your commitment to CASA and the children you advocate for. This resource hub is here to support you as an active CASA advocate, with tools, continuing education, and guidance to help you navigate your casework with confidence.

HELPFUL LINKS

https://casacollege.myabsorb.com/#/login

https://tx-elpaso.evintosolutions.com/Account/LogOn?ReturnUrl=%2fAccount%2fLogOf

TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES & PRESENTATIONS

Creating Connections: Child-Centered Adoption Strategies

Tuesday, March 24th, 2026 @ 11:00AM

Join the Heart Galleries of Texas for Adoption Conversations Across Childhood! The Heart Gallery Learning Series is designed to build statewide consistency, create shared language, and strengthen practice skills across the child welfare community.

Objectives:

Distinguish between child-centered and adult-centered practices.
Increase knowledge and understand purpose of child-centered adoption practices.
Explore specific strategies and tools that promote centering the child’s perspective during the adoption process.

Virtual: Reserve a Spot

Human Trafficking 101

Tuesday, April 21st, 2026 @ 11:00 AM

This foundational training offered by the Paso Del Norte Center of Hope provides an essential overview of human trafficking, including what it is, who can be affected, and where it happens in communities like El Paso.

In-Person: CASA Conference Room

Virtual: ZOOM Link

CASA COLLEGE ONLINE LEARNING CENTER

CASA College — Our online learning platform — offers a wide range of self-paced and on-demand trainings covering topics important to your advocacy, such as:

Building Connections with CASA Volunteers and Incarcerated Parents
Building Trust Through Communication
Sexual Abuse Prevention Training
Sharpening Skills Webinar Series

You can log in, enroll in courses, and complete them whenever your schedule allows, earning continuing education hours along the way.

Tip: After completing a course on CASA College, remember to log your continuing education hours through the CE submission form so they count toward your annual requirement.

APPROVED MOVIE LIST

In order to keep current with subjects/topics that relate to the volunteer role, our volunteers are required to complete 12 hours of continuing education per year. We make it easy to keep up with your continuing education hours and learn something new! There are great movies to immerse yourself in. Don’t forget to send self-reflection form to mreza@casaofelpaso.org to receive your credit.

Below is a list of approved movies for continuing education hours. A short self-reflection form must be submitted to receive credit for the movie. Each movie provides 2 hours of training. With a maximum of two movies per year, for a total of 4 hours of credit.

Maid (2021)

After fleeing an abusive relationship, a young mother finds a job cleaning houses as she fights to provide for her child and build them a better future.

Foster Boy (2019)

Michael is a high-powered lawyer and Jamal is an angry young man who has been imprisoned after years of abuse in the foster care system. Together they have to overcome their differences to find justice and expose the foster care system.

Short Term 12 (2013)

Calm and competent, Grace is a young counsellor at a California care unit for at-risk teens. However, her cool facade begins to crack in the pressure cooker atmosphere as she and some of the unruly residents are reminded of past and present abuses.

Four Good Days (2021)

Emerging from a detox clinic, a young addict tries to stay clean while living with her mother for the next four days.

I Am Somebody’s Child (2019)

This movie tells the journey of a young African American girl who navigates over 30 foster homes and psychiatric facilities before age 18, and the one woman, Jeanne, who believes in her. After Jeanne’s unsuccessful attempt to adopt Regina due to a racially motivated ruling, their bond is forced apart. “I Am Somebody’s Child” is Regina’s story of how one woman’s belief and love becomes her lifeline as she defeats the odds of a corrupt system and succeeds. After 25 years, Jeanne is finally able to adopt Regina in the same courthouse that denied them previously.

From Place to Place (2011)

From Place to Place is a feature documentary that spends two years in the lives of six young adults who recently aged out of foster care. At age 18 they were forced to leave foster care without the skills or support they needed.

The State of Texas vs. Melissa (2020)

Her name is Melissa Lucio. For over ten years, she has been awaiting her fate on death row and is now on her last appeal. Melissa was the first Hispanic woman sentenced to death in Texas. To many, Melissa looks like she is responsible for her daughter’s death. Guilty of abusing Mariah, her two-year-old child, day after day, until she died from a blunt head trauma. But strangely, she was never known to be violent towards her children. In addition, nobody had ever seen her being abusive to Mariah. All documented in dozens of CPS records.

Ben is Back (2018)

Holly is swept into a race against time after her 19-year old son returns home for Christmas and suddenly disappears

The Trials of Gabriel Fernandez (2020)

A boy’s brutal murder and the public trials of his guardians and social workers prompt questions about the system’s protection of vulnerable children

Instant Family (2018)

When a couple decides to start a family, they are inspired to pursue adoption through the foster care system. They feel like wonderful, altruistic people until they suddenly have three wild kids in their home. Now they must learn to love and parent children who have no interest in being parented in this heartwarming comedy.

CONTINUING EDUCATION FORM

CASA OF EL PASO

ADVOCATE CONTINUING EDUCATION

SUBMISSION FORM

All active advocates are required to complete 12 hours of continuing education each fiscal year to remain in good standing.

First Name

Last Name

Supervisor Name

If submitting a movie credit:

I understand that there is a maximum of 2 movies allowed per year, for a maximum credit of 4 CE hours.

Name of training, book, webinar, podcast, etc.:

Name of trainer, author, presenter, streaming source, etc.:

Date of Completion

Month

Day

Year

Number of hours:

Summary of content:

Describe how this training will support your work with CASA:

Signature

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Please upload any certificates or relevant training materials.

All active advocates are required to complete 12 hours of continuing education (CE) each fiscal year to remain in good standing.

Fiscal Year: September – August

Newly trained volunteers must have 1 CE hour for each month they have been active.

What Counts as Continuing Education

Continuing education activities must support your role as a CASA advocate and may include:

CASA of El Paso trainings (virtual or in-person)
Webinars and recorded trainings
Conferences or community presentations
Podcasts, books, or documentaries
Approved movies
Other learning opportunities related to child welfare, trauma, advocacy, or the court system

All activities must be documented and submitted for credit.

How to Track and Submit CE Hours

Advocates are responsible for tracking and submitting their continuing education hours.

Each submission must include:

Title of the training or activity
Date completed
Total time spent
Summary of what was learned

Hours are submitted through your advocate supervisor or through the “Continuing Education Submission Form” on the CASA of El Paso Volunteer Resources page.

Advocate Resources

Advocate Resources

HELPFUL LINKS

https://casacollege.myabsorb.com/#/login

CASA OF EL PASO

ADVOCATE CONTINUING EDUCATION

SUBMISSION FORM

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