Hello there!!
Thank you so very much for volunteering with us here at Brush Country CASA. We are so grateful for the support you provide our CASA families. Welcome to our new Volunteer Resource page. Here you will be able to access our updated Volunteer Policy and Procedure Manual along with a running list of continuing education opportunities. Questions, comments or recommendations may be directed to JayLene Garza, 361.595.7233 or jaylene.garza@brushcountrycasa.org.
Volunteer Policy and Procedure Manual
Volunteer Continuing Education
* DISCLAIMER: The content listed in the Volunteer Resource Page may have been recommended by CASA volunteers, staff or the general public. The subject matter may be difficult to watch and strong language may be used. VIEWER DISCRETION IS ADVISED. Furthermore, the views or ideas portrayed in this content do not necessarily depict the views of CASA or anyone affiliated with the CASA program.
Click below to jump to a specific section or click Here to browse the full list.
NETFLIX (Watch Instantly):
- The Pharmacist– After his son’s tragic death, a Louisiana Pharmacist goes to extremes to expose the rampant corruption behind the opioid addiction crisis. (Watch the Trailer HERE)
- Girls Incarcerated– Teen girls at two juvenile correction facilities in Indiana struggle with conflict and heartbreak as they try to turn their lives around. (Watch the Trailer HERE)
- Dope– Filmed from the perspective of dealers, users and the police this vivid series offers a bracing look at the war on drugs. (Watch the Trailer HERE)
- The Trials of Gabriel Fernandez– Dark details of Gabriel’s story come to light as a shadowy source form inside DCFS suggest that his case wasn’t handled properly. ( Watch the trailer HERE)
- Abducted in Plain Sight– In this true crime documentary, a family falls prey to the manipulative charms of a neighbor, who abducts their adolescent daughter, TWICE. (Watch the trailer HERE)
- Babies– From Nature to nurture, this docuseries explores the groundbreaking science that reveals how infants discover life during their very first year. (Watch the trailer HERE)
- Crip Camp– A groundbreaking summer camp galvanizes a group of teens with disabilities to help build a movement, forging a new path towards greater equality. (Watch the trailer HERE)
- 13th– In this thought-provoking documentary, scholars, activists and politicians analyze the criminalization of African Americans and the US prison boom. ( Watch the trailer HERE) (DISPROPORTIONALITY)
- The Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson– As she fights the tides of violence against trans women, activist Marcia Cruz porbes the suspicious 1992 death of her friend Marsha P. Johnson. (Watch the trailer HERE) (LGBTQ, CULTURAL COMPETENCE)
- Let it Fall – This documentary chronicles simmering tension between LA’s community and police in the decade before the Rodney King Riots. (Watch the trailer HERE) (DISPROPORTIONALITY)
- Prescription Thugs– A documentarian uses his own family’s experiences to explore the ethical issues surrounding the FDA and pharmaceutical industry (Watch the Trailer HERE)
- Drugs, Inc. – TV Series (Watch the Trailer HERE)
- Audrie & Daisy– Documentary about Sexual Assault Victims (Watch the Trailer HERE)
- The Bad Kids– Teachers adhere to the belief that compassion and life skills can profoundly help at risk (Watch the Trailer HERE)
- I am Jane Doe– This intense documentary follows real cases of American girls enslaved in the child sex trade. (Watch the Trailer HERE)
- Heroin(e)– In the overdose capital of America, they save lives everyday. They won’t give up on people who need them. (Watch the Trailer HERE)
HULU:
- Intervention– This show is an inside look at the devastating effects of addiction on a family.
- I am Jazz – Jazz Jennings is a typical 14 year old girl in always but one. Jazz was assigned male at birth. Her supportive family accepted Jazz as a girl at a young age, but with her teenage years upon them, they’re in for a whole new set of challenges. (Watch the trailer HERE)
- Transgender Nation– Gender identification is changing rapidly, causing heated division between the left and the right. Transgender Nation lifts the veil on the world of the Transgender and explore the secrets of a world most misunderstand. (Watch the trailer HERE) (LGBTQ, CULTURAL COMPETENCE)
- Feelgood: Dealer or Healer?– The story of Dr. William Hurwitz – a preeminent pain specialist sentenced to 25 years in prison – provides a window into the ethical dilemma of opioid prescriptions. (Watch the Trailer HERE)
- Public Figure– A documentary that investigates the psychological effects of everyday social media use while exploring how our influencers deal with the fame, money, hate, and obsession that comes with it. (Watch the Trailer HERE)
- American Relapse – Frankie and Allie fight to make a difference against the devastating heroin epidemic. The two recovering addicts spend their lives pulling needles out of the arms of active users. (Watch the trailer HERE)
- Far from the Tree– Discover the courage of compassion through the eyes of parents journeying towards acceptance of their unique children. Based on The New York Times bestseller. (Watch the trailer HERE)
- Off Label– A probing exposé of an over medicated, misdiagnosed, and drug-addled America, OFF LABEL takes us on an emotional journey through 8 uniquely personal experiences to shed light on an unknown and often camouflaged plague affecting our nation. (Watch the trailer HERE)
- Raising Tourette’s– “Raising Tourette’s” follows five families with children ranging in ages from 11 to 17. Like all adolescents, each child has aspirations, friends, rivals and homework, but they also all have Tourette Syndrome. (Watch the trailer HERE)
- UNexpected– Unexpected explores the ups and downs of pregnant teen couples and the parents who raised them. Tensions mount between the families as everyone has conflicting ideas for what is best for the young parents and their child – from where they will live to whether or not they should get married. (Watch the trailer HERE)
- Sold in America– Profit. Violence. This is America’s sex trade like you’ve never seen it. With “Sold in America,” reporter Noor Tagouri and producer Kate Grumke uncover the crucial — yet often overlooked — intersection of the U.S. sex trade with some of the nation’s worst ills: child abuse, gender discrimination, racism and drug addiction. (Watch the trailer HERE)
- Gaycation– Ellen Page and her best friend, Ian Daniel, set off on a personal journey to explore LGBTQ cultures around the world. (Watch the trailer HERE) (LGBTQ, CULTURAL COMPETENCE)
- 60 Days In: Narcoland– Teams will go undercover in some of the most dangerous, drug-infested areas in the Midwest. (Watch the trailer HERE)
- 60 Days In– Seven civilians go undercover in Indiana’s Clark County Jail to experience life behind bars. (Watch the trailer HERE)
Disney+
- The Odd Life of Timothy Green – Cindy and Jim Green live in the town of Stanleyville, home of the Stanleyville Pencil Factory. Though happily married, Cindy and Jim long for a child; unfortunately, they are unable to conceive. They bury a box in their backyard, containing all their wishes for what they hope a child of theirs might be. When a boy named Timothy magically appears at their door, the Greens learn that sometimes the unexpected can bring some of life’s greatest gifts. (Watch the trailer HERE)
- Tarzan – In this Disney animated tale, the orphaned Tarzan grows up in the remote African wilderness, raised by the gentle gorilla Kala. When a British expedition enters the jungle, Tarzan encounters the beautiful Jane and recognizes that, like her, he’s human. Falling in love with Jane, Tarzan is torn between embracing civilization and staying with his gorilla family, which becomes threatened by the ruthless hunter Clayton. (Watch the trailer HERE)
- Meet The Robinsons – Boy genius Lewis gives up hope of retrieving his latest invention, which was stolen by Bowler Hat Guy, then a young time-traveler named Wilbur Robinson arrives on the scene to whisk Lewis away in his time machine. The boys spend a day in the future with Wilbur’s eccentric family and uncover an amazing secret at the same time. (Watch the trailer HERE)
FREE ON YOUTUBE:
2021 Volunteer Meeting Recordings:
- CPS Substance Abuse Specialist, Sherrell Gibbs – https://youtu.be/4N0oMze462k
- Children’s Advocacy Center (CAC) – https://youtu.be/G0RQfcqQ9fI
- Trauma and the Brain with Ana Sanchez Brown – https://youtu.be/aakMcLFLyWw
- Volunteer Meeting with Judge Selina Mireles – https://youtu.be/QM5qV7LYJmo
- CACOST – https://youtu.be/4N0oMze462k
- LGBTQ Training with Barton Bailey: https://youtu.be/S2GyuZNAbx4
- Project Turnaround: https://youtu.be/x2ulhMFH66k
- Domestic Violence with Jennifer Radcliffe from the Purple Door: https://youtu.be/SxUBNOEf8U0
- Cybercrimes Presentation with Heath Hardwick: AVAILABLE BY REQUEST
Childhood Trauma:
- The Long Term Effects of Childhood Trauma (25 min.) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FTVUF2os__A
- Breaking the Silence about Childhood Trauma (12 min.) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8NkZO3_h7vI&t=216s
- Toxic Fallout: The Devastating Effects of Childhood Trauma (28 min.) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mRp8nBNDKgI
Children in Foster Care
- Un(Wanted) Foster Care Documentary (26 min.) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RV9xZW3ghP4
- Children in Need. Children Ignored (18 min.) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0JQYUp6sEbY
- Unadopted (34 min.) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6vdKVyNedc
Removed Series
- Removed (13 min.) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lOeQUwdAjE0
- Removed #2 (23 min.) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I1fGmEa6WnY
- Removed #3 (22 min.) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fegRjSgRYXk
Children and the Brain
- The Importance of the Parent Child Relationship (20 min.) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TsGOyX9WY4k
- The Teenage Brain (15 min.) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TLULtUPyhog
- Why Teens Turn from Parents to Peers (10 min.) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=thxlUme7Pc8
Trauma Informed Care
- Tonier Cain: Healing Neen Presentation (1 hour) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IVgD_CHpq
Additonal Movies and TV
- ALL RISE: For the Good of the Children – ALL RISE: For the Good of the Children takes you inside the courtroom of an unconventional judge in East Texas who takes a trust-based, trauma-informed approach to healing broken families in the child welfare system. Two families share how their lives were transformed through the support and intervention offered by Judge Carole Clark and her team of lawyers, mental health experts and child advocates. Watch it for free at https://allriseforchildren.com/.
- The Willoughbys – Neglected by their parents, four old-fashioned siblings venture out into the modern world with their new nanny. (Watch the trailer HERE)
- Despicable Me – A man who delights in all things wicked, supervillain Gru hatches a plan to steal the moon. Surrounded by an army of little yellow minions and his impenetrable arsenal of weapons and war machines, Gru makes ready to vanquish all who stand in his way. But nothing in his calculations and groundwork has prepared him for his greatest challenge: three adorable orphan girls who want to make him their dad.
(Watch the trailer HERE)
Webinars
- Texas CASA Learning Center – Create a free username and password and have access to tons of content from Texas CASA. https://casacollege.myabsorb.com/#/login
Podcasts
- Do No Harm – Melissa Bright thinks she’s living every parent’s worst nightmare when her five-month-old baby tumbles from a lawn chair and hits his head on the driveway. But after she rushes him to the hospital, a new nightmare begins. The Bright’s are thrust into a medical and legal system so focused on protecting children from abuse, it has targeted innocent parents. With exclusive audio captured as the events unfolded, this harrowing six-episode series takes you inside the Bright’s’ fight to hold their family together, against a system that can sometimes do more harm than good. Hosted by NBC News National Investigative Reporter Mike Hixenbaugh, Do No Harm is a co-production of NBC News and Wondery.
Books
Abuse & Neglect
“A Child Called It” by Dave Pelzer
“A Child Called It’ is the unforgettable account of one of the most severe child abuse cases in California history. Dave Pelzer was brutally beaten and starved by his emotionally unstable, alcoholic mother, who played torturous games that left him nearly dead.
FIND IT HERE
“Broken” by Shy Keenan
Shy Keenan’s autobiography is incredibly moving, raw and a powerful read. It covers her childhood, growing up with a neglectful immature mother and a step-father who systematically sexually abused her from the age of four.
FIND IT HERE
“The Glass Castle” by Jeannette Walls
The Glass Castle is a 2005 memoir by Jeannette Walls. The book recounts the unconventional, poverty-stricken upbringing Jeannette and her siblings had at the hands of their deeply dysfunctional parents. The title refers to her father’s long held intention of building his dream house, a glass castle.
FIND IT HERE
“Damaged: The Heartbreaking True Story of a Forgotten Child” by Cathy Glass
“Damaged” is the story of Cathy Glass and her year-long effort to reach a little girl who was so damaged by abusive parents that her goal turned out to be one that she or any other lay person could never have met. It was wrong that Jodie was placed in a foster home.
FIND IT HERE
“Don’t Tell Mummy: A True Story of the Ultimate Betrayal”
This heart-wrenching memoir from Toni Maguire tells the deeply moving story of an idyllic childhood that masked a terrible truth. Underneath her mother’s gentility and her father’s roguish charm lay horrifying secrets, which eventually led to their only child’s near destruction.
FIND IT HERE
“Silenced” by Vicky Jagger
‘He was Mummy’s favorite. I was the little sister, and his victim.’
FIND IT HERE
“Cry Myself to Sleep” by Joe Peters
Haunted by his harrowing past, Joe’s life spiraled out of control. Living on the lonely streets of London, Joe turned down a dark path of crime and self-destruction and it seemed that he was bound for prison. Until the love of a good woman set him free!
FIND IT HERE
“My Orange Duffle Bag” by Sam Braken
SAM BRACKEN’s childhood was one of unspeakable abuse and neglect. By the time he was a teenager, he had been beaten, starved, set on fire, molested, and abandoned. When Sam moved to Georgia Tech to attend college, all of his possessions fit in one small orange duffel bag.A
FIND IT HERE
Cultural Competence
“Such a Fun Age” by Kiley Reid
In the midst of a family crisis one late evening, white blogger Alix Chamberlain calls her African American babysitter, Emira, asking her to take toddler Briar to the local market for distraction. There, the security guard accuses Emira of kidnapping Briar, and Alix’s efforts to right the situation turn out to be good intentions selfishly mismanaged.
FIND IT HERE
“Between the World and Me” by Ta-Nehisi Coates
In a profound work that pivots from the biggest questions about American history and ideals to the most intimate concerns of a father for his son, Ta-Nehisi Coates offers a powerful new framework for understanding our nation’s history and current crisis. Americans have built an empire on the idea of “race,” a falsehood that damages us all but falls most heavily on the bodies of black women and men—bodies exploited through slavery and segregation, and, today, threatened, locked up, and murdered out of all proportion. What is it like to inhabit a black body and find a way to live within it? And how can we all honestly reckon with this fraught history and free ourselves from its burden?
FIND IT HERE
“I’m Still Here: Black Dignity in a World Made for Whiteness” by Austin Channing Brown
Austin Channing Brown’s first encounter with a racialized America came at age 7, when she discovered her parents named her Austin to deceive future employers into thinking she was a white man. Growing up in majority-white schools, organizations, and churches, Austin writes, “I had to learn what it means to love blackness,” a journey that led to a lifetime spent navigating America’s racial divide as a writer, speaker and expert who helps organizations practice genuine inclusion.
FIND IT HERE
“So You Want to Talk About Race” by Oluo Ijeoma
In this breakout book, Ijeoma Oluo explores the complex reality of today’s racial landscape–from white privilege and police brutality to systemic discrimination and the Black Lives Matter movement–offering straightforward clarity that readers need to contribute to the dismantling of the racial divide.
FIND IT HERE
“The Hate You Give” by Angie Thomas
Sixteen-year-old Starr Carter moves between two worlds: the poor neighborhood where she lives and the fancy suburban prep school she attends. The uneasy balance between these worlds is shattered when Starr witnesses the fatal shooting of her childhood best friend Khalil at the hands of a police officer. Khalil was unarmed.
FIND IT HERE
“Born a Crime: Stories From a South African Childhood” by Trevor Noah
Born a Crime is the story of a mischievous young boy who grows into a restless young man as he struggles to find himself in a world where he was never supposed to exist. It is also the story of that young man’s relationship with his fearless, rebellious, and fervently religious mother—his teammate, a woman determined to save her son from the cycle of poverty, violence, and abuse that would ultimately threaten her own life.
FIND IT HERE
Child Development
“The Whole-Brain Child: 12 Revolutionary Strategies to Nurture Your Child’s Developing Mind, Survive Everyday Parenting Struggles, and Help Your Family Thrive” by Daniel J. Siegel
Your toddler throws a tantrum in the middle of a store. Your preschooler refuses to get dressed. Your fifth-grader sulks on the bench instead of playing on the field. Do children conspire to make their parents’ lives endlessly challenging? No—it’s just their developing brain calling the shots!
FIND IT HERE
“No Drama Discipline: The Whole-Brain Way to Calm the Chaos and Nurture Your Child’s Developing Mind” by Daniel J. Siegel & Tina Payne Bryson
Highlighting the fascinating link between a child’s neurological development and the way a parent reacts to misbehavior, No-Drama Discipline provides an effective, compassionate road map for dealing with tantrums, tensions, and tears–without causing a scene.
FIND IT HERE