The Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) network uses new technologies like social media, podcasts, and digital storytelling to build community and strengthen outreach. These tools connect the 70,000 volunteers across the country and increase awareness of CASA's work advocating for abused children. A recent project had CASA members share their stories at a conference, which were recorded to post online. This helped explain their mission through personal experiences. While in-person events remain important, new media provides another avenue to engage current and potential volunteers and create a more connected, supported community.

1. Building a Community of Child Advocates Sybil Turner University of Massachusetts - Boston Media & Community Building Spring 2010

2. The CASA Community The Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) network consists of: National Court Appointed Special Advocate Association (National CASA) 1150 CASA programs and remote offices across the country 70, 919 volunteers Judges Guardian ad Litem attorneys Funders Board members Former foster youth

3. What does CASA do?

4. Building Community Through New Technologies and Social Media There are many types of new technologies and medias that are intended to build and strengthen communities. For a community that has been growing since the first program was established in 1977, have these new technologies been effective for community buildingand outreach? How does story telling strengthen outreach efforts and ? This presentation will take a look at some of these new technologies, how they are being used and the intended outcomes.

5. Community Outreach in the past… From the national level: Newsletters Email National CASA Conference Listserves Locally: State conferences Local trainings Local fundraising events

6. What’s new? Social Networking (Facebook, Twitter) You Tube Podcasts Digital Storytelling Webinars Over the past two of years, National CASA has begun to incorporate these new tools into outreach, community building, awareness and training.

7. New Technologies and Social Networking Podcast on How New Technologies Help the CASA/GAL Network National CASA CEO Michael Piraino talks about how new technologies are helping members of the CASA network improve volunteer advocacy for abused and neglected children.

8. Benefits of Social Networking Increases ability to gather and share information that will benefit children in court Relationships are closer regardless of geography Creates access to a pool of current and former volunteers with a wealth of information Not isolated but rather a part of something else Increase in connections – existing and new Avenue for motivating people Connections and sharing happens faster

9. YouTube Life before You Tube: Spreading the word about CASA meant purchasing air time on TV or radio stations to air a PSA, purchasing or receiving in-kind print advertising space in magazines or newspapers , or mailing VHS or DVD copies of PSA’s to each program to show locally at trainings or fundraising events. You Tube = More Viewers: You Tube has enabled National CASA to post all PSA’s, appearances by national spokespeople and the CEO on shows such as The View or Dr. Phil as well as news coverage of events to reach more viewers. More Viewers = Greater Awareness

10. Benefits of You Tube The February 1 Black Voices post included an embedded version of the Make a Lifelong Difference YouTube video, which resulted in an abrupt upward spike in video viewing. It also increased the number of volunteer inquiries (25% of all February inquiries were received on that day) and the number of podcast downloads, which were listened to over 530 more times in February than in January.

11. Podcasting What is Podcasting? A podcast (or netcast) is a series of digital media files (either audio or video) that are released episodically and often downloaded through web syndication (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Podcast). “Many people liken podcasting to radio on demand. However, in reality, podcasting gives far more options in terms of content and programming than radio does. In addition, with Podcasting, listeners can determine the time and the place, meaning they decide what programming they want to receive and when they want to listen to it. Listeners can retain audio archives to listen to at their leisure. While blogs have turned many bloggers into journalists, podcasting has the potential to turn podcasters into radio personalities.” (Housley)

12. National CASA Podcasts National CASA posts weekly podcasts to educate the network on various training topics and current events in addition to community building through volunteer stories. New Podcast: A Volunteer's Story by Jo-Anne Vanin Massachusetts CASA volunteer Jo-Anne Vanin explains how she views her role as a volunteer advocate and why she chooses to do this important work.

13. Social Computing & Online Interactions New Volunteer Inquiries: 2,407 in February | 4,742 Year-to-date New Email Newsletter Subscriptions: 313 new in February | 734 new Year-to-date YouTube Videos Watched: 3,350 in February | 5,205 Year-to-date Audio Podcasts Accessed: 1,894 in February | 3,252 Year-to-date New Twitter Followers (net): 57 added in February for a total of 233 followers | 96 new Year-to-date Facebook Page Views: 10,294 in February (1,840 unique) | 15,214 Year-to-date (3,511 unique) Facebook Fans (net): 909 new in February (5,246 total fans total) | 2,680 new Year-to-date Facebook Page Member Interactions: 433 in February | 693 Year-to-date (Forrester, 2010)

14. Facebook presence The Facebook fan base continues to grow and a resulting increase in interactions and page views was evident in February. (Forrester, 2010)

15. What does this mean? More people = increased online interactions Increased online interactions = increased community building and outreach

16. What is Digital Storytelling A short, first-person video-narrative created by combining recorded voice, still and moving images, and music or other sounds.(http://www.storycenter.org/index1.html) Digital Storytelling is the practice of using computer-based tools to tell stories. As with traditional storytelling, most digital stories focus on a specific topic and contain a particular point of view. However, as the name implies, digital stories usually contain some mixture of computer-based images, text, recorded audio narration, video clips and/or music. Digital stories can vary in length, but most of the stories used in education typically last between two and ten minutes. (http://digitalstorytelling.coe.uh.edu/)

17. A New Project: Storytelling Booth Each year, National CASA brings together staff and volunteers from the state and local CASA programs from across the country at the National CASA Conference. Due to various reason, not every program or volunteer can attend, so the location rotates regionally to provide more opportunities. The conference not only provides training, but is a place where people can connect in person and provide support and inspiration to each other in an often draining field of work. This year a new project was developed to set up a storytelling booth for people to ‘tell their story’.

18. Intended Outcomes (Interview with Rebecca Grossman, National CASA Training Specialist) Q: What do you hope to accomplish? Two things: obtain stories we can post over the web via audio or video mainly as a way to explain what we do. I think our mission will come across much more understandably when it is told through a story than any other way. Q: How will you measure success? If we actually get some stories that we can use for the web or if we find folks who are willing to be contacted in the future for story sharing. Q: What challenges might arise? Lots! This is the first time we are doing this so I am sure there are a lot of things we don’t know that we don’t know. We don’t have a ton of time to get the stories from people. 15 minutes with one person does not allow us to really dig deep into the narrative. What if no one is willing to do it? Technical issues with equipment or editing might arise. Q: How will this project benefit the CASA Community? I think good stories could be used for telling our story to future volunteers, people who donate money, potential staff, judges, youth and the public at large. Plus, for folks who are already in the CASA community it helps to hear stories to relate to and learn from.

19. The Project ‘in action’ Feedback in real time: Although many announcements were made to the network via the website and online newsletter, the team wished that they had networked more with programs and people they had already made connections with and asked them to spread the word instead of ‘cold’ recruiting at the conference. Roving interviews were incorporated to pick up reactions and feedback to use as publicity and to share with those that were not able to attend the conference. Overall, people were excited, encouraged and eager to share. All of the 15 min interview slots were eventually filled and a few contacts were also made with people who wanted to share their stories at a later date. The interviewer was a former foster youth that wants to enter the field of journalism. With the guidance and coaching from the communications and training team, the youth conducted many of the audio and video interviews.

20. How Did it Go? (Follow-up Interview with Rebecca Grossman, National CASA Training Specialist) Q: How many stories were collected (on-site and connections for the future)? Q: What was the most notable success or positive outcome? Q: What lessons did you learn? Q: Will you do this project again?

21. Community Media Across the Network Many local and State CASA programs are creating their own videos and posting them on You Tube. The Maryland CASA Association used their local Public Access TV station to film an informational video on the work of CASA volunteers and posted it to You Tube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A5P5oN60VR0&feature=related Several state and local CASA programs have created Facebook and Twitter pages for their organizations as an additional way to connect.

22. Extended Community Digital Stories from the Field The National Resource Center for Permanency and Family Connections (NRCPFC) at the Hunter College School of Social Work, A Service of the Children's Bureau has created a new website with a series of stories told from the perspectives of former foster youth, social workers, supervisors, parents, family partners, advocates, judges and CASA workers that are useful for individuals and organizations providing TA to States, Localities, and Tribes, or those in Social Work educational settings, as these stories literally bring the voices and experiences of those most affected by the child welfare system into the room. The stories cover a wide range of topics including permanency, adoption, reunification, youth development, the importance of parent and youth voice in case planning, and the role of courts and the judicial system in planning for and with families. http://www.nrcpfc.org/digital_stories/

23. Extended Community Continued… Many other organizations within the child advocacy field are also using social networking tools like Facebook and Twitter. These tools enable organizations to connect in another way and reach out to create awareness and support. These tools do not take the place of newsletters, conferences, in-person trainings or other forms of connections and communication that were already in place. These organizations are ‘friends’ of National CASA and through this new online friendship, people that may have been familiar with one organization is all of a sudden exposed to all of them.

24. Conclusion New technologies are not intended to be “instead of” they are “in addition to”. National CASA, like many other organizations, is using online tools and new media forms to build and strengthen it’s already growing community. New technologies provide another way to create a stronger more connected network where people feel more supportedand more connected. Storytelling provides a community separated by distance a source of inspiration and is another way to explain the mission and create more awareness for the organization. These tools provide a fast and easy way to reach out to new people as well as stay connected with those already established in the community.

25. The answer is ‘Yes’ Community Building Anther Way Outreach Stronger Storytelling More Supported Outcomes More Connected

26. Sources: Center for Digital Storytelling. (n.d.). http://www.storycenter.org/index1.html Forrester, Dave. February Online Metrics Report. March 24, 2010. Grossman, Rebecca. Personal Interviews. April 2, 2010 and May 3, 2010. Housley, Sharon.(n.d.). What is Podcasting. Retrieved April 28, 2010 from: http://www.podcasting-tools.com/what-is-podcasting.htm Wikipedia. (n.d.). Podcast. Retrieved April 30, 3010 from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Podcast Educational Uses of Digital Storytelling. (n.d.). Retrieved April 30, 2010 from the University of Houston website: http://digitalstorytelling.coe.uh.edu/ www.CASAforChildren.org