Sally Erny, Chief Program Officer

National CASA Association has engaged Development Resources, Inc. (DRI) Mary Kay Phelps joins National CASA as Interim Chief Development Officer

Continuing Resolution (CR) funds the government at FY 2015 levels through December 11. Additional CRs are possible. Negotiations on differing CASA funding proposals between the House ($6M) and Senate ($12M from CVF) have not begun. Action Links: casaforchildren.org (News & Events/Public Policy)

 Competitive award of $4.5 million from DOJ OJJDP  Significant input from CASA/GAL network  Funds are to enhance and increase advocacy, targeting at-risk youth and other special populations

 90 percent pass-through requirement, including grants in at least 38 states  Grants to local programs and state organizations  Grantees will receive enhanced training, technical assistance, and resources as part of their project

 Grants process will be announced in the near future.  Send us your questions and inquiries at

Review of Legal Issues affecting programs, nonprofits Federal Funding Update Public Policy and Congressional Activity Update State Government Activity + Participate in polls to formulate our Public Policy Agenda Monthly and as news warrants distribution to subscribers

On June 30, the Department of Labor issued a proposal to amend regulations governing overtime compensation: Raises the salary threshold for employees to quality for overtime compensation from $23,660 to $50,440 The proposed rule would not change the two prerequisite standards which result in CASA/GAL programs being exempt from FLSA rules: 1.business (non-charitable) revenue of at least $500K (Enterprise Coverage), or 2.regularly involved in commerce between states (Individual Coverage). If your program does not meet one of these standards, it is exempt from paying overtime under FLSA. State law will still apply.

John Wyble, Director of State Development

First week of November - State Steering Committee (SSC) will be meeting in conjunction with Urban Leadership Council SSC members reaching out to all state directors to gather information in preparation for meeting National CASA reaching out to states within the week to schedule 1:1 reviews of the local program survey results

Two survey instruments sent: Annual survey to state organizations with satisfaction component (43 responses) Survey sent to local programs with questions about satisfaction with state organizations and National CASA (658 responses)

Contact Answer OptionsState OrgNational CASA More than once/week 13.3%0.5% Weekly 27.3%1.7% Monthly 41.1%14.1% Less than monthly 15.6%73.0% Never2.7%10.6%

Answer Options: StateAlways Almost Always Sometime s Never The state CASA/GAL staff respond to requests in a timely manner % 22.57%6.43%2.19% The state CASA/GAL staff is knowledgeable % 21.44%6.73%2.19% The state CASA/GAL staff provide networking opportunities and training % 17.43% % 2.98% The state CASA/GAL staff respond to requests in a professional manner % 14.55%3.60%1.88% The state CASA/GAL staff is courteous % 12.09%3.61%1.88% The responses from the state CASA/GAL staff meet my needs % 27.00% % 2.83% The state CASA/GAL staff share valuable news and information % 18.15%8.92%2.66%

On average, state organization staff most often reported communicating with someone at National CASA monthly (49%) or weekly (29%). Fewer said they communicate more than once a week (7%) or less than monthly (12%).

The National CASA staff…Always Almost Always Sometimes N/A Respond in a timely manner44% 10%2% Understand my requests and questions 44% 10%2% Is knowledgeable39%49%10%2% Respond in a professional manner 66%24%7%2% Is courteous66%27%5%2%

Local programs ranked the priorities of the state organization in this order: Statewide representation and leadership with key and state level stakeholders Public awareness about the CASA/GAL movement Training for local CASA program staff Providing information about and assistance with resource development Creating communication and networking opportunities with other local CASA programs

Local programs ranked the priorities of the state organization in this order: (continued) Technical assistance for local CASA/GAL programs Disseminating information to local CASA programs from a variety of state and federal resources Serve as quality assurance, accountability and compliance agent for local CASA programs around NCASAA Standards Training for CASA volunteers Work to develop new local CASA programs

State Org Effectiveness in: 5 (Highly Effective) (Not Effective ) N/A Public Policy Leadership 41.98% % % 3.77 % 5.97 % 4.56% Technical assistance support 33.80% % % 6.89 % 4.69 % 6.26% Training 40.78% % % 4.84 % 2.81 % 2.66% Quality Assurance 40.79% % % 4.88 % 3.94 % 6.46% Public Awareness/Marketing/PR 21.82% % % 9.26 % 7.69 % 2.98% Resource Development 23.11% % % 9.43 % 6.45 % 5.50% Grant Management 31.65% % % 5.51 % % Resources for Governance Effectiveness of your program 29.86% % % 7.58 % 5.06 % 8.06% Statewide representation and leadership with key and state level stakeholders 47.38% % % 4.45 % 4.77 % 4.45%

Extremely effective Very effective Somewhat effective Slightly effective Not effective N/A Marketing and branding 12%20%37%17%7% Public policy leadership 10%56%22%2% 7% Research and evaluation 2%17%29%15%22%15% Resource development 5%20%24%15%29%7% Training15%39%22%12%2%10% General support and assistance 17%42%29%5%2%5%

Extremely satisfied Very satisfied Somewhat satisfied Slightly satisfied Not satisfiedN/A Grant application process 12%32%29%5%12%10% Grants management process 17%34%22%2%12% Self-assessment process 5%24%29%10%12%20% Other services not mentioned 16%18%21%6% 33%

Aggregate scores for each state will be shared with states with their state profile Metrics and next steps will be established for National CASA to address areas that need improvement. SSC will assist with this process Survey results will be shared with the network with next steps

Sally Erny, Chief Program Officer

Growth Grant Awards: -California CASA - $250,000 -Georgia CASA - $250,000 -Oregon CASA Network - $192,000 Development Grant Awards: -Michigan CASA - $75,000 -West Virginia CASA - $75,000 -Capacity Building Renewals: -Alabama CASA - $40,000 -New Mexico CASA - $40,000 -CASA of New York State - $20,000 -Texas CASA - $40,000

California CASA – Cory Pohley Georgia CASA – Duaine Hathaway Oregon CASA – Erin Moore

$218,000 remaining from Growth ($18,000) and Development ($200,000) funds State Steering Committee recommendation is to invest remaining $218,000 into state organization development

State Resource Grants ‒ Enhanced technical assistance and special project support for statewide initiatives in specific categories ‒ Up to eight awards to be made Local Program Grants ‒ Local grants are initiatives that increase the number of volunteers recruited and the number of children served. ‒ At least 14 awards to be made - up to $35,000 each Applications due October 16 Awards Announced November 10 Grants begin January 1

State organization and local program directors Review of local program and state resource grants request sent to states and locals Apply by October 12 One-hour training on October 19 Up to 15 applications to be reviewed

Working with the Alliance of CASA/GAL State Organizations on a coordinated meeting Las Vegas Nevada December 1-3 – exact times TBD Full day leadership development training Other topics of interest

Currently have a completed draft Curriculum Development Committee will meet in November to review draft and make revisions Pilot in first quarter, 2016 Roll out late second quarter, 2016

Notification to all state and local programs of opportunity to apply for committee membership: Update, CASA/GAL News Information and application will be posted the National CASA website, State and Local Program landing page Seeking applicants with varying tenure, experience and skills and from a variety of state organizational structures, sizes and models

Launch of functional area committees: Legal & Advocacy Marketing & Brand Awareness National Conference Performance Measurement Launch of new councils: Rural Suburban Tribal