Every year, CASA for Children of Mercer and Burlington Counties holds its annual Aging Out Youth Seminar. Plans are now underway for the 2022 Seminar, for youth, case managers and community partners who work with youth in the child welfare system.
The event is a partnership between CASA, the Division of Child Protection and Permanency, Mercer County Children in Court and Burlington County Children in Court, and community organizations.
The seminar focuses on the 14-21 year old population of youth in the child welfare system. Past conferences covered such topics as forming healthy relationships, navigating legal documents, post-secondary planning, employment skills and budgeting before stepping into the “real world.”
CASA for Children of Mercer and Burlington Counties is making plans to introduce new training courses available to its 248 trained adult volunteers by sponsoring Laura Fitzgerald, Ph.D., Director of Training and Evaluation to complete The Nurtured Heart Approach (NHA). More than a parenting or educator behavior management strategy, NHA consists of a set of strategies that assists children in further developing their self-regulation and has been effective with children of all ages, especially those with behavioral challenges. It focuses on transforming the way children perceive themselves, their caregivers and the world around them. The method increases the child’s self-esteem, methodically, consistently and effectively, and is seen as an important resource for children coping with a range of addiction, abuse and abandonment issues.
