Welcome to the Buzz, CASA/LA’s hub for volunteer news, upcoming events, resources, and more! View a summary of the page’s contents below and feel free to click to jump down to the section that is most relevant to you. The Buzz is updated monthly and each month’s highlights can be delivered straight to your inbox.
If you have any suggestions about the Buzz or anything else CASA/LA-related, please submit to our suggestion box!
NEWS
Join CASA/LA for a Hike or Coffee in December!
When: Saturday, December 6th, 9:00am for the hike OR approx. 10:30am for coffee
Where: Fern Dell Nature Trail, Fern Dell Drive, Los Angeles, CA 90027
Meeting Point: Outside the Trails Cafe (2333 Fern Dell Dr). Find Google Maps coordinates here.
Parking: Free parking is available on Fern Dell Dr between Los Feliz Blvd and the Trails Cafe. Additional parking is available at parking lots past the cafe, where Fern Dell Dr turns into Western Canyon Rd, however these spots typically fill up quickly.
Difficulty & Duration: This hike is 2.6 miles round trip, with 613 ft. elevation gain and should take approx. 1.5 hours
Details: The trail is wide in most places largely uncovered. We will walk the loop up to the observatory, where we will rest and take a picture before walking back down to complete the loop. We will reconvene at the Trails Cafe for coffee at approximately 10:30am. If you don’t want to hike, or you’re running late, you’re welcome to meet us for coffee!
Advice: It can be quite sunny on this trail with very minimal shade so we encourage you to bring a hat, sunscreen, and water.
Questions: Contact Emily Scrimshaw
Congrats New CASA/LA Graduates!
Last Month, we welcomed an incredible group of 22 new advocates to our CASA/LA team! Thank you for your commitment to our young people.
Help Us Build a Court Report Writing Training
We’re developing an in-service training series on court report writing, and we want to make sure it meets your needs.
Whether you’re a seasoned volunteer or just starting out, we would love to hear from you.
Tell Us What You Think
Your feedback will directly shape the content, format, and focus of the training. We’re especially interested in:
- Areas where you need additional support
- Specific topics or skills you’d like the training to cover
- Tools, templates, or resources that would be helpful
- Preferred format and timing for the training (e.g., in-person, virtual, self-paced; daytime or evening sessions)
Click below to complete our short feedback form. It only takes a few minutes, and your input will make a big impact.
Holiday Gifts for Youth
Where: CASA/LA Office, 201 Centre Plaza Drive, Monterey Park, CA 91754
Details: We’d love to help you get a holiday gift for your CASA youth. We will have gifts in by 12/12, so please stop by that day to pick something up. Staff will be available to chat and join you for some coffee and pastries 10am-12pm. If you cannot come to the office that day, please contact your advocate supervisor to coordinate gift pick-up.
RSVP: Please RSVP at the form below if you plan to attend, so we know how many folks to expect. We will also do our best to have gifts for your youth’s age group, but please note that we cannot guarantee anything specific. If you are hoping to locate a particular item to gift, please contact your advocate supervisor.
Dress Code: We welcome you to wear your favorite holiday gear or ugly sweater (totally optional)
Volunteer Voices: Angela White
Nominated for the 2025 CASA/LA Volunteer of the Year, Angela White is known to be dedicated, organized, and attentive in her role as a CASA. Angela has been a CASA for a year and a half and is currently paired with an 18-year-old non-minor dependent, LGBTQIA youth involved in the youth justice system. “He is a smart, personable, creative young person who is determined to graduate from high school and go to trade school,” She shares. Angela’s supervisor raves about her dedication to her youth’s case and writes, “Angela has gone above and beyond to advocate for our client’s needs with education, mental health, medication, and even housing. Angela has participated in numerous meetings with the school and fought for the best tailored plan for our client to graduate on time and with an IEP plan that really supports my client and his educational needs.”
We recently asked Angela some questions about her experience as a CASA and she had much wisdom to share. Read on for her Q&A!
What inspired you to start volunteering?
“My father started working as a CASA in Idaho after he served on a particularly difficult jury case. When he passed away, I felt inspired to become a CASA and carry on such important work.”
Can you describe a moment when you realized your work was making a difference?
“I was shocked to learn that when the youth was a junior in high school, he was not enrolled in the classes that would enable him to graduate under AB216. As a CASA and the Educational Rights Holder, I made a difference by getting him enrolled in the proper subjects, helping him get an IEP in place, and fighting to make sure that 100% of his credits transferred to a different school district when he moved placements. Over the course of several moves, he has attended five different high schools. Now he only has one semester of one class left to graduate! I am so proud of him.”
What’s one skill or lesson you’ve learned through volunteering?
“Through volunteering as a CASA, I have learned that communication is the absolute key to a good relationship with the youth and to effective advocacy for him. The CASA can be the one person who makes sure that the youth, the placement, the school, the department, the attorneys, the judge, and the health care teams all are on the same page and working toward the same goals to support the youth’s wants and needs. The other people working to help a youth often have many cases to handle at once, whereas the CASA can devote special time and attention to really make a difference for the youth.”
What would you say to encourage others to get involved?
“Volunteering as a CASA allows you the privilege of being a person that the youth can depend on and trust. It is a special relationship and an honor to get to know and support a youth who deserves a caring advocate in life. Because I care so much about the youth, it can sometimes be challenging to bear witness to what he has had and continues to go through, but those are the times that remind me just how important the work of a CASA is.”
Thank you, Angela, for your incredible service to your CASA youth!
TRAINING
Upcoming Trainings
Other Training Resources
Logging Continuing Education Hours
CASA volunteers are required to complete 12 hours of continuing education each year to support their advocacy. We have launched a new system for tracking continuing education (CE) entirely in Litmos.
Click here to view the recording of the In-Service Training – CASA CE 101: Requirements, Tracking, and Logging Hours. This recording will provide an overview of everything you need to know about the new system AND it will count towards your continuing education hours.
If you need more background information, help logging into Litmos, or have other questions, please review the following guide documents:
Foster Together Network
The UCLA Prevention Center of Excellence is excited to share a collection of resources for child welfare professionals, generously supported by Pritzker Foster Care Initiative. Available on the Wellbeing for LA Learning Center, this curated collection includes handouts (also available in Spanish), videos, and online trainings that utilize evidence-based behavior management strategies and resilience-promoting parenting skills to reduce placements for children in LA County’s welfare system and promote family and individual development.
Learn more and view all available resources here.
Create an account and view resource library here.
Resources to Support Advocacy
New Volunteer Resource Hub
Click here to view our new shared resource folders. Our directory of resources will now live in these new folders. Only new and time sensitive resources will be listed in the Buzz.
Click here to submit your own resources. Submissions will regularly get added to the resource hub.
Ongoing Resources
Baby2Baby: Resources for Pregnant or Parenting Youth and Young Children
Talk with your advocate supervisor about requesting diapers/wipes and other baby supplies through CASA/LA from Baby2Baby. All orders must be placed by CASA/LA staff.
If your CASA youth is expecting and at least 6 months pregnant, please speak with your Advocate Supervisor about requesting a Welcome Baby basket.
For Goodness Cakes: Treats for Youth Birthdays and Graduations
For Goodness Cakes is a collective of professional bakers who volunteer to make cakes for youth facing adversity. They’d love to make a cake for your CASA youth! See their FAQ part 1 here and FAQ part 2 here. Reach out to your advocate supervisor to ask them to request a cake for your youth.
Pick up a Handmade Quilt for your Youth
Contact your supervisor if you haven’t yet gotten a quilt from the office for your youth. Once you pick one up, please complete the thank you note that comes with the quilt. You can take a picture of the note or scan it and email it to Lauri Halderman
Workshops for Youth in Antelope Valley Hub
Workshops for Resource Parents at AV Hub
Classes for Youth in AV Hub
Connection
CASA Connections
CASA Connections are intended to be positive social experiences that encourage CASAs to connect and build networks of friendship and support.
These spaces are all about sharing ideas, offering encouragement, and working together to find solutions using a strength-based approach. While it’s a great space to talk through challenges, it’s essential to keep the focus constructive and always protect the confidentiality of the children and families we support.
CASA Connection: Education Focused
Each month, our discussion will center around a specific topic related to educational needs. Next meeting, we’re focusing on Suspension and Expulsion as many of the children we serve face these challenges at school.
We recognize the insight, dedication, and perseverance that you bring when supporting youth through these challenges. Whether you’ve seen progress, faced setbacks, or are still navigating what works best, we invite you to join the discussion and connect with fellow advocates.
Next Meeting: Thursday, November 13th at 5.30pm-7pm (drop in anytime)
General Connection Group
Public Counsel Office Hours
Next Office Hour- Tuesday, December 9th, 12-1pm.
Need legal answers for your CASA youth?
Connect with Public Counsel’s Transition Age Youth (TAY) Team. They provide free, civil legal support to youth ages 16–26 who have experienced foster care. Their areas of expertise include:
- Housing law
- Family law
- Public benefits advocacy
- Education and more
Learn more about the team here.
Register to join a virtual drop-in session with attorneys from Public Counsel to:
- Ask questions specific to your youth’s situation
- Understand their legal rights
- Explore services and referrals available through Public Counsel
Please reach out to Emily Scrimshaw with any questions.
Sign Up for a 1-1 Consultation with an Education Attorney
Date: Wednesday, December 3rd
Time slots: 9am, 10am or 11am
CASA/LA is hosting an IEP consultation clinic with the help of the Alliance for Children’s Rights. This clinic is an opportunity to consult one-on-one with an education attorney to get guidance about your young person’s education.
Steps to schedule a consultation:
- Check your availability: Confirm that you’re available on the clinic date and during possible appointment times. Tentatively mark these on your calendar
- Gather education documents: collect as many documents as you can from the last two years of your young person’s educational history
- Complete the consultation form
- Look out for a confirmation email
Note: Appointments are limited and scheduled on first come, first serve basis. Submit your form early to secure your spot.
Where: Zoom
REGISTER by completing consultation form
Contact Emily Scrimshaw with any questions
Sign up for 1:1 Regional Center Support
Are you working with a youth that has a developmental disability? Struggling to navigate an IEP or the Regional Center? You can sign up for a 1:1 case consultation with Advocate Supervisor Caroline Christ to discuss your case and receive specialized support related to youth with developmental disabilities.
Click here to request a consultation or contact Caroline Christ with any questions.
Book Groups
San Fernando Valley Book Group
When: November 18th at 7pm
Where: CASA’s Home in SFV
We’re Reading: “Good Dirt” by Charmaine Wilkerson
RSVP: Contact Renne Bilson (rj******@*ol.com)
* Space is limited to those with completed Covid-19 vaccinations
Coastline Book Group
When: No meeting until January. More info soon.
Where: TBD CASA’s home
We’re Reading: TBD
RSVP: contact Lisa Baskin (ba*****@*******al.net)
*Space is limited to those with completed COVID-19 vaccines.
Support casa/la
A Day on the Course, a Lifetime of Impact
Albert & Mackenzie, a workers’ compensation defense law firm founded by Bruce Albert, who has served as a CASA/LA volunteer for the past seven years, is hosting its Inaugural Charity Golf Invitational on Friday, November 7, 2025, at Strawberry Farms Golf Course in Irvine, CA. All proceeds will be donated to CASA of California, CASA of Los Angeles, and Peace4Kids as the beneficiaries.
If you, or someone you know, want to sponsor, donate, and/or play a round of golf at one of Southern California’s beautiful courses, we invite you to join us and register today at charity.albmac.com.
A Message from Albert & Mackenzie’s Firm Managing Partner: “Through my journey as a CASA volunteer for the past 7 years, I’ve witnessed firsthand the need by these youth in foster care for a constant and stable partner on which to rely. Being involved in the lives of these young individuals has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. I am proud to support youth in foster care.”
Become a Monthly Donor
Monthly donations are crucial to buffering our organization from the ups and downs of life, ensuring that there is no lull in service to the youth we serve.
Help us sustain our transformational programs through a monthly gift.
More Ways to Give
- Use your Ralphs Rewards Card to earn donations for CASA/LA.
- Donate your car, boat, RV, or motorcycle with Helping Hands Charity Services.
- Host a community drive.
- Consider CASA/LA in your planned giving.
- Invite others to become CASA volunteers.
Tiny Wins Are Going Fast - Don’t Miss Out!
Coffee with a Cause: CASA/LA x Black Aswad Coffee Co.
We’re thrilled to announce a meaningful new partnership with Black Aswad Coffee Co., a mission-driven brand committed to mental wellness, justice, and social impact. Through their premium blend, HAVEN, 20% of all proceeds will directly support CASA/LA’s advocacy on behalf of children in the foster care system.
Rooted in shared values, this collaboration is more than just a cup of coffee — it’s a daily act of awareness, solidarity, and change. Every bag you brew fuels the movement for equity, healing, and hope for youth in foster care.
Learn more and order your bag of HAVEN today: CASA/LA x Black Aswad Coffee Co.
Key guides & links
Court Report Writing Resources
Emotional Support for CASAs
We care about your well-being. All volunteers may access our EAP program for anonymous counseling.
Click here to learn about the CASA/ LA Benefits EAP for volunteers
Access services here with the code “worklife”
Volunteer Handbook
ETO: CASA/LA's Database
Need help with ETO? No worries, we got you covered. If the advocate handbook doesn’t have your answer, you can email the ETO helpdesk. Additionally, we have a recorded ETO training available on Litmos.