Lesson series
Session 4: Parental Risk Factors
Estimated Completion Time: 3 hours
This session builds CASA volunteers’ ability to understand how parental mental health challenges, substance use and addiction, domestic violence/intimate partner violence, vulnerability to immigration enforcement, and incarceration can affect child safety, stability, and permanency. Participants learn to assess family dynamics through a trauma-informed and strengths-based lens, and document observations in clear, factual ways. The session focuses on looking holistically at the child and family’s situation and circumstances and making solid, evidence‑based suggestions about concerns, while staying within the CASA volunteer’s role boundaries and not making any diagnoses or treatment decisions.
This session builds CASA volunteers’ ability to understand how parental mental health challenges, substance use and addiction, domestic violence/intimate partner violence, vulnerability to immigration enforcement, and incarceration can affect child safety, stability, and permanency. Participants learn to assess family dynamics through a trauma-informed and strengths-based lens, and document observations in clear, factual ways. The session focuses on looking holistically at the child and family’s situation and circumstances and making solid, evidence‑based suggestions about concerns, while staying within the CASA volunteer’s role boundaries and not making any diagnoses or treatment decisions.