HomeMy WebLinkAboutApplications_CASA ApplicationDiversity, Equity and Inclusion
2022-2023 GRANT FUNDING FOR HIGH IMPACT DE&I PROJECTS
Pl e ase provi de al l re que ste d i nformati on be f ore submi tti ng your appl i cati on. Please be as spe cific as possible !
I f accommoda on or assistance is n eed ed in co mple ng this A pplica on, or if a paper ve rsion is prefe rre d, ple ase
contact (805) 781-7100 or D EI@slocity.org
Organization Name :*
Y e ar Establishe d:*
Fiscal Age nt, if diffe re nt than abov e :*
Tax ID #:*
Docume nt Ce rtifying Fe de ral Tax-Exe mpt status, if applicable
Name of Exe cutiv e Dire ctor (or highe st le ade rship position)
Approximate Annual Budge t:
M ajor Source s of Funding:
M ission State me nt:
Numbe r of paid staff (full- or part-time ):
Numbe r of v olunte e rs:
Name of Board Pre side nt or Chair:
Organizational Le ade rship Chart *
PART 1: APPLICANT INFORMATION
CASA of San Luis Obispo County, Inc.
1993
CASA of San Luis Obispo County, Inc.
770316227
Copy of 501(c)(3) Status IRS Determination Letter (1).pdf 220.7KB
Lovisa Stannow
1,293,482
State Government Grants, Local Government Grants, Private Foundations, Corporate Foundations,
Individuals and Corporate Sponsors
CASA of San Luis Obispo County (SLO CASA) advocates for the best interests of abused and neglected
children within the court system. CASA recruits, trains, and supervises volunteers who advocate for this
vulnerable poption with the goal of ensuring that each and every child grows up in a safe, nurturing, and
permanent home.
13
287
Dr. Gilbert Stork
Organizational Chart August 2022.pdf 227.49KB
Name of Pe rson comple ting this Application:
Organization M ailing Addre ss:*
Phone :*
E-mail:*
Brie fly de scribe your organization’s mission, primary activ itie s, and ope rating structure s.
De scribe the community(ie s) your organization supports.
Sarah DeYoung
City
San Luis Obispo
State / Province / Region
California
Postal / Zip Code
93406
Country
United States
Street Address
75 Higuera Street
Address Line 2
Suite 180
805-592-1245
sdeyoung@slocasa.org
CASA of San Luis Obispo County is a 501(c)(3) non-profit agency that is headquartered at the intersection
of Higuera Street and Madonna Road in San Luis Obispo. We are a member of the National CASA/GAL
Association.
CASA volunteers provide one-on-one support for foster children and youth throughout the life of their child
welfare case. CASA volunteers are trained to gather information and focus their advocacy (primarily in
reports to the court) to cover the needs of the whole child, including placement, physical and mental
health, education, permanency, and well-being. Supporting normalcy for their CASA children is a key
component of this work. We are committed to providing a trained and competent CASA volunteer for every
abused and neglected child in the foster care system in San Luis Obispo County who wants or needs one.
All the 184 CASA volunteers who were assigned to children and youth in the foster care system during the
last fiscal year received coaching and ongoing support and supervision from one of SLO CASA’s five staff
Advocate Supervisors. In addition, we delivered 25 in-service training sessions administered by local
service providers and agency partners on topics such as Cultural Competencies, Child Abuse and Neglect,
Substance Abuse, Domestic Violence, Mental Health Challenges, Grief/Loss Effects on Child Development
and Visitation with Parents, Preparing and Participating in Court Hearings, and Communicating with
Children and Families. The total attendance at these 25 sessions was 266.
SLO CASA is committed to continuously identifying and implementing process improvements and program
upgrades to better support our volunteers and the children and youth they serve. Other key activities for
FY 2021-2022 included recruiting, screening, training, and swearing in 47 new CASA volunteers,
upgrading our Infant and Toddler program and Mentor program, and identifying additional training and
support needed for volunteers who are serving our high-risk children and youth.
Please be specif ic in the population and geographic area.
In FY 2021-2022, SLO CASA supported 184 volunteers who were assigned to 267 foster children.
Approximately 50 of those children, or 18%, were placed in the city of San Luis Obispo during the fiscal
year. As of the end of the fiscal year, approximately 30, or 16%, of our CASA volunteers resided within the
city boundaries.
CASA of San Luis Obispo serves children and youth in the foster care system in San Luis Obispo County.
While the overwhelming majority of children and youth served by our CASA volunteers are placed within
the county, we also have children and youth who are placed with relatives or in Short Term Residential
Treatment Placements in Santa Barbara, Sacramento, Ventura, Los Angeles, and San Diego counties.
PART 2: PROJECT INFORMATION
Name of DE&I Proje ct *
Est. numbe r of pe ople se rv e d through this proje ct:*
Est. numbe r of SLO CITY RESIDENTS se rv e d through this proje ct *
Total Proje ct Cost:*
AM OUNT OF CITY FUNDING REQUESTED:*
De scribe your propose d proje ct or program.
De scribe the community the proje ct will support.
Diversity is the Power of Change
200
50
50,000
10,000
Specify w hat the requested f unds w ill be used f or, the need for this project, the number of people impacted. Include a project plan, if available.
CASA of San Luis Obispo (SLO CASA) adopted goals in its 2020-2023 Strategic Plan to improve the
diversity, equity, and inclusion of its volunteer base and of its Board of Directors to more accurately reflect
the gender and ethnicity of the foster children we serve.
With regard to volunteers: The Program Team specifically identified the need to recruit more men and
persons of Latino descent. Boys in the foster care system often lack positive male role models and
respond very positively to being assigned to a male CASA volunteer. Similarly, bilingual Latino CASA
volunteers are crucial in helping Latino children stay connected with their cultural traditions, as well as with
their biological families. Currently, both groups are under-represented among SLO CASA’s volunteers.
With regard to the Board of Directors: CASA of San Luis Obispo is committed to diversifying the make-up
of its Board of Directors and staff. Three current staff members have been promoted into positions at the
Director level, one of whom is of Latino descent. Four new staff members have recently been hired, one of
whom identifies as Asian-American and another who identifies as Native American. The Board of Directors
has just begun an effort to add new Board members, with a focus on diversity, and the most recent
addition is a woman of Latino descent.
Although the Strategic Plan included plans to create Objectives and an Action Plan to address diversity
needs/goals for the Board, the Covid 19 pandemic and a recent leadership transition at SLO CASA
delayed this work. However, the Board is now poised to make DEI a top priority.
A grant of $10,000 from the City of San Luis Obispo will cover approximately 20% of the total proposed
project and enable CASA of San Luis Obispo to 1) significantly improve the diversity of its volunteer base
by increasing the number of men and persons of Latino descent who serve in this pivotal role and 2) fund
foundational and organizational development DEI training for our Board of Directors. The proposed budget
includes funding for assessing the effectiveness of CASA’s current recruitment marketing and expanding
this work to support additional strategies; convening two focus groups of current volunteers and staff
members to identify additional recruitment strategies focused on recruiting more male volunteers and more
volunteers who identify as Latino; hosting two special recruitment events targeting potential male and
Latino volunteers; preparing and offering DEI training for our Board of Directors led by a local consultant.
We hope to leverage funding from the City with funding we are seeking from the National CASA
Association, Union Pacific Local Grants Foundation, and the Community Foundation of San Luis Obispo to
make meaningful progress on our DEI goals.
De scribe the e quity gaps and community ne e ds this proje ct will addre ss.
Specify the population, location of services provided, and any other identif iers your proposed project w ill support.
Although SLO CASA has been successful in increasing the percentage of new volunteers who identified as
Latino by 3.5 times over the past three years, the overall percentage of Latino volunteers (6%) is still not
reflective of the population of Latino children we currently serve (26%). Similarly, the number of new male
volunteers has increased to 24% and while that is significantly higher than the overall percentage of men
in our volunteer pool (17%), it is still well below the percentage of boys we currently serve (40%). Clearly,
we need to identify strategies and recruitment tools that will help us make additional progress toward this
goal.
CASA currently has funding from the California Office of Emergency Services that is being used to
implement an outreach program developed by a local marketing agency to reach potential volunteers who
more accurately reflect the population we serve. This outreach includes print, online, and other types of
advertising that feature men and boys and Latino adults and children. While this marketing has been
effective and needs to continue, more staff time and investment is clearly needed to meet our diversity
goal.
We have identified the following new strategies:
In order to recruit more men:
1. Evaluate the effectiveness of the current marketing and outreach plan to determine which types of
communication have been effective in reaching the target population and update and expand the
marketing/outreach plan to include and support new focus group and recruitment event strategies.
2. Form a focus group of current male CASA volunteers to develop a targeted recruitment strategy that:
identifies why men do or do not decide to apply to be CASA volunteers; identifies messaging or recruitment
events that reach men; identifies agencies or groups to partner with to reach potential male volunteers;
identifies barriers among men to follow through on an interest to serve and ways to mitigate those barriers.
3. Organize a special recruitment event aimed at reaching potential male CASA volunteers, working
together with one or several of CASA’s existing sponsors, such as Sunset Honda or Specialty
Construction.
In order to recruit more people who identify as Latino:
1. Evaluate the effectiveness of the current marketing and outreach plan to determine which types of
communication have been effective in reaching the target population to include and support new focus
group and recruitment event strategies.
2. Form a focus group of current Latino CASA volunteers to develop a targeted recruitment strategy that:
identifies why Latino men and women do or do not decide to apply to be CASA volunteers; identifies
messaging or recruitment events that reach Latino men and women; identifies agencies or groups to
partner with to reach potential Latino volunteers; identifies barriers among people of Latino descent to
following through on an interest to serve and ways to mitigate those barriers.
3. Organize a special recruitment event aimed at reaching potential Latino volunteers, working together
with one of CASA’s local partner organizations, like Promotores Collaborative of San Luis Obispo.
In the table below briefly list 2-3 methods of evaluation and indicators of success or
measurable outcomes.
M e thods of Ev aluation Indicators of Succe ss / M e asurable Outcome s
In the chart below, identify any partnerships/collaborations that are supporting this
project, and their roles.
Name of Partne r Activ ity/Se rv ice The y Prov ide for This Proje ct
We believe – based on the experiences of children and youth served by these volunteers – that support
from a positive male or Latino role model significantly increases the sense of belonging and inclusion
experienced by these often-marginalized youth.
Such diversity is important because many of the boys in the foster care system lack male role models and
respond very positively to being assigned to a male CASA volunteer and to do “guy stuff” with them. For
example:*
• Joel and Michael, ages 14 and 16, have a young male CASA volunteer named Tim. The boys have four
siblings, and their father was recently tried and convicted of molesting their older sister. They and their
younger brother are placed in “family maintenance” with their mother, which is hopefully the final stage of
the foster care process when children return home but the case stays open in order for the court to
confirm that the parents are able to provide a safe and stable environment. Joel and Michael’s mother is
trying, but she struggles with mental health challenges and the effects of a lifetime of domestic violence.
Some of the boys’ weekly visits with Tim consist of hanging out and trying a new type of food each week
(e.g., Thai, Mexican). Other times they bowl and see if their game improves when they wear their hats
differently (backwards, inside-out). Tim is also helping them both apply for summer jobs and is working with
Joel on preparing to take his driving test. They recently went over safety (seat belts, checking mirrors,
etc.), the basics of turning on the car and shifting gears, and even took a tour under the hood.
• Karen and Dan are assigned to a 15-year-old boy, Oscar, who has challenging sexualized behaviors and
has spent most of his life in the foster care system. When they completed CASA training, they took on this
challenging youth who was on his 22nd placement. The social worker had requested a male CASA
volunteer to help Oscar learn how to form healthy relationships with girls and manage his sexualized
behaviors but was thrilled to have a CASA couple assigned who could model a healthy and positive marital
relationship for him. Karen and Dan have become Oscar’s educational rights holders and have discussed
everything from sports, how to budget and compute sales tax, and the dangers of vaping. Dan has also
spent one-on-one time with Oscar discussing how to treat women with respect.
Similarly, foster children of Latino heritage often face language barriers, and bilingual Latino CASA
volunteers can be especially effective in helping these children learn English, as well as support them in
interacting with their biological families. Even where language is not an issue, Latino volunteers can help
Latino foster children stay connected to their cultural traditions. For example:*
• Josie is a 15-year-old girl with significant mental health challenges. She has been hospitalized a number
of times due to suicidal ideation and self-harm behaviors. This spring, Josie told her CASA volunteer,
Paloma, that she really wanted a quinceañera for her 15th birthday party. Josie’s mom was back in jail and
being charged with selling drugs, and Josie knew that Paloma (who is also of Mexican-American heritage)
would best understand the importance of having a quinceañera and how to make it happen even though
Josie is currently placed in a residential treatment center for high-needs youth. In her report to the court,
the social worker reported that Josie looked “absolutely beautiful” and was a gracious hostess to all the
guests at her quinceañera.
*Note: all names of foster children and CASA volunteers have been changed.
Example : # of BIPOC serving on public boards, committees
% increase male volunteers
Example: 10% increase by end of 2021
5% by 6/30/23
Example : # of BIPOC serving on public boards, committees
% increase in Latino volunteers
Example: 10% increase by end of 2021
5% by 6/30/23
Prov ide the time line for this propose d proje ct.
De scribe your plan for sustainability be yond the City’s one -ye ar award funding, if applicable .
Using the table below, please provide a broadly-itemized budget for your project,
including the source of any matching funds.
Ite m De scription *Total Cost *Amount Prov ide d by
City Funds *
Amount of Othe r
Funds and Source of
Funding *
1
2
3
4
*During application review , you may be asked for f urther f inancial information or f or proof of any matching f unds
De scribe the plan for promoting this proje ct within the City of San Luis Obispo.
Example: ABC Business
Sunset Honda
Example: Free Use of Space f or Weekend Classes
Host recruitment event
Example: ABC Business
Specialty Construction Inc.
Example: Free Use of Space f or Weekend Classes
Host recruitment event
Example: ABC Business
Promotores Collaborative of SLO
Example: Free Use of Space f or Weekend Classes
Help with targeted recruitment activities for Latinos
Example: ABC Business
Local DEI Consultant
Example: Free Use of Space f or Weekend Classes
Prepare and deliver DEI Training to CASA Board
3-4Q22:
1) Assess the effectiveness of CASA’s current recruitment marketing and expand this work to support
additional strategies. 2) Convene two focus groups of current volunteers and staff members to identify
additional strategies focused on recruiting more male volunteers and more volunteers who identify as
Latino.
1Q23: Host two special recruitment events targeting potential male and Latino volunteers
We anticipate that we will gain great insight and knowledge about how to continue improving SLO CASA’s
DEI work well beyond the funding period, especially through the learnings from the two proposed focus
groups. We believe that this information will be instrumental in helping us modify and enhance our
recruitment strategies and continue to improve the diversity of our volunteer base in the future.
After completing the targeted recruitment project activities described in this proposal, we plan to designate
one or more of our Advocate Supervisors (or possibly other staff members) as the permanent leads for
this project. This role would include developing and implementing plans for Fiscal Year 23-24 that would
include targeted recruitment as well as provide additional support and training to our existing male and
Latino volunteers. This plan could include regular gatherings of these subsets of volunteers (e.g., re-
launching our monthly men’s group at a local brewery or coffee shop), new marketing and advertising
materials or strategies (in both Spanish and English), and researching/networking with other CASA
organizations or local agencies to learn from their successes. We currently receive funding from a variety
of local government grants, state government grants, corporate foundations, private foundations, and
individuals and corporate sponsors, and would seek additional funding to support these ongoing activities.
PART 3: PROJECT COST / BUDGET
Personnel 25,000.00$5,000.00$20,000.00$
Marketing 10,000.00$2,000.00$8,000.00$
Recruitment Events 10,000.00$2,000.00$8,000.00$
DEI Training 5,000.00$1,000.00$4,000.00$
PART 4: AWARENESS AND VISIBILITY
How will you highlight the City's support of your proje ct?
By signi ng thi s applicaon, I ce rfy that the i nformaon containe d w i thin is true and corre ct to the be st of my
know l e dge . I agre e to comply w i th the re quire me nts of the Ci ty of the San Lui s Obispo.
Name of Pe rson comple ting this Application:*
Signature *
Title :*
Date :*
The marketing campaign for the project will include new over-the-street banners (one placed above Marsh
Street for a week at a time) during each quarter. It will also include our billboard (currently placed
alongside the 101 north of the Monterey Street on/off ramps) which depicts a boy with his male CASA
volunteer, as well as print and online flyers, social media posts, and other materials created for targeted
recruitment of male and Latino volunteers.
We plan to create a new webpage to describe the project and highlight the funders who are specifically
supporting it. We also plan to create recognition posts on four different social media channels, and to
recognize the City’s support in our Executive Director newsletter and in marketing materials prepared for
the project.
PART 5: CERTIFICATION
Sarah DeYoung
Development Director
8/12/2022
Copy of 501(c)(3) Status IRS Determination Letter
*Management Team member
Development Director*
Sarah DeYoung
Program Director*
Nicole Perotti
Volunteers
Dana Fiore
Christy Gabler
Allyson Krugh
Adrienne Walker
Elaine Wilcox
Marla Williams
Development Manager
TBD
Program
Associate
Sonja Orton
Operations Director*
Daniella Barion
Advocate
Supervisor
Cindy Nguyen
Advocate
Supervisor
Rayne Rice
Advocate
Supervisor
Julia Thompson
CASA of San Luis Obispo County
Organizational Chart, August 2022
Board of Directors
Advocate
Supervisor
Pat Miljanich
Advocate
Supervisor
Amberly Lahr
Training
Manager
Laura Ochoa
Executive Director*
Lovisa Stannow
(Interim)
Administrative Assistant
Mariah Avery
Connect Accounting
(consultant) Advocate
Supervisor
TBD
Educational
Advocate
Sarah Perry