Child Advocates San Antonio Achieves Trauma-informed Certification

Child Advocates San Antonio Achieves Trauma-informed Certification

Child Advocates San Antonio (CASA) announces that the agency has become a trauma-informed certified agency. CASA is one of the few agencies in Bexar County to achieve this designation.


CASA is dedicated to supporting children on their journey through their removal from home and the various issues that brought them into the child welfare system. It is critical we do this work through the lens and language of trauma-informed care.

 

Trauma-Informed Care is a journey that encompasses far more than training; it’s a cultural approach to our people, processes, practices, and outcomes. It’s about deeply embracing that the children we advocate for in the foster care system have experienced trauma. Because of this awareness, we realize the impact of trauma, recognize the signs and symptoms, respond, and actively resist re-traumatization.

 

Research shows that childhood trauma impacts children’s social interaction, ability to play, and educational achievements. Chronic exposure to trauma affects memory, problem-solving, executive functioning, ability to focus, increased negative behaviors, and substance abuse. Children in foster care have, by definition, been exposed to trauma, both through the circumstances that lead to their removal and the removal itself.

 

Trauma-informed care offers the opportunity for children to engage more fully in their care. It allows them to develop stronger, more trusting relationships with their CASA Advocate or other adults in their lives. And, on the other side, trauma-informed care can help reduce burnout among the volunteers and staff serving the children, leading to more continuity for the children.



Due to our volunteers and team members being equipped with this knowledge and training, we serve with compassion and excellence. We are fully committed to continuously improving and to fully embedding a trauma-informed approach into our policies and processes and to embracing the language and intent of being trauma-informed throughout our agency. We view this as an excellent opportunity to simultaneously pursue diversity, equity, and inclusion to nurture a sense of belonging.

 

Trauma is healed through relationships, and only by increasing our knowledge and awareness can we build healthy relationships.

Story of Hope: Staff Advocate JoAnn

By bfines • March 9, 2026
In March 2025, Child Protective Services removed four young children, just 7, 4, 2, and 3 months old, from their mother’s care. This difficult step followed ongoing concerns about neglect, largely connected to the mother’s struggle with substance use, even during her most recent pregnancy. Although CPS offered support through Family Based Safety Services, the mother was unable to engage in the help provided. The children’s father was also unable to support them due to his own substance abuse and his incarceration in Bexar County Jail. Before removal, the children’s basic medical and educational needs were going unmet. They had been moved repeatedly between their mother and other relatives, leaving them without the stability, routine, and nurturing supervision every child deserves.  When CASA Staff Advocate, JoAnn Herring, was assigned the case in April 2025, she immediately reached out to both kinship caregivers to understand the children’s needs and how to best support the families stepping in to care for them. JoAnn quickly learned that the paternal grandmother, who lovingly took in some of the children, was struggling financially and facing barriers due to limited English proficiency. To ensure she wasn’t facing these challenges alone, JoAnn submitted a CFE (Collaborative Family Engagement) referral and personally provided translation support so the grandmother could access services with dignity and understanding. Throughout the case, JoAnn has witnessed moments where cultural sensitivity was lacking, and personal biases influenced important decisions; often at the expense of what was best for the children. Despite these obstacles, she continues to advocate steadfastly and compassionately for the children to remain with the kinship caregivers who have opened their homes and hearts to provide safety, consistency, and love. Although the case is not yet over, Joann’s story demonstrates that CASA’s advocacy reaches beyond the children themselves, strengthening the village of care and support surrounding them, because CASA wants children to be safe, to thrive, and to have their overall well-being protected.

March Advocate Spotlight

By bfines • March 9, 2026
Johnathan Cobb
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