2025 Colorado CASA State Conference Friday, September 26th Junior Achievement Academy

Exciting News: Virtual Attendance Now Available!

While in-person registration for this year’s conference has officially closed, we’re thrilled to introduce a new way to join us—virtually!

Virtual attendees will have live access to:

  • 🌟 The inspiring Keynote Presentation

  • 🏆 The celebratory Luncheon Awards Ceremony

  • 💬 Two dynamic Panel Presentations

👉 Stay tuned for registration details and streaming access. We can’t wait to welcome you online!

Keynote Speaker: MelissaRoshan (MelRo) Potter

Keynote Speaker: MelissaRoshan (MelRo) Potter

MelissaRoshan (MelRo) Potter: "Your Light is Needed, Let it Shine"

Join MelissaRoshan (MelRo) Potter a, "Lived Experienced Ambassador" of foster care as she explores the power of allowing your light to shine, then sharing it with the world so that we all can ignite the light in others.

This session will be available to livestream for virtual attendees.

Check Out the Full Schedule!

  • MelRo - Your Light is Needed, Let it Shine

    Join MelissaRoshan (MelRo) Potter a, "Lived Experienced Ambassador" of foster care as she explores the power of allowing your light to shine, then sharing it with the world so that we all can ignite the light in others

  • Building a Culture of Belonging - MelissaRoshan (MelRo) Potter

    Building Empathy: Understanding the Challenges Caused by Financial Insecurity - Manna Resources Center

    Safety vs. Risk - Guardian ad litem (GALs)

  • Mindful CASA Relationships Using Enneagram Wisdom - Kathy Watters

    Special Education 101 - Department of Education

    Infusing Trauma-Informed Strategies in Advocacy and Practice - The Kempe Center - University of Colorado - Anschutz

    Staff Networking

  • Join us in celebrating the 2025 CASA in Colorado Award winners!

  • Chief Judge Amanda Hopkins, 12th Judicial District

    Judge Lisa Gomez, Denver Juvenile Court Judge, 2nd Judicial District

    Judge Valeria J. Robison, Senior District Court Judge (retired), 21st Judicial District

  • Transition to Adulthood: Foster Youth Bill of Rights - Representative Lindsay Gilchrist, CO State Representative HD8 and Amy Pitlik

    Building Sibling Bonds - Elevating Connections

    Through an Ombudsman Lens: How Families and Children Experience Colorado's Child Welfare System - Office of Colorado's Child Protection Ombudsman

  • More details to come!

Building A Culture of Belonging

This training is designed to mentally stretch you in the best of ways.  By taking deep dives into what it means to, "be" culturally competent,practice cultural humility, explore implicit bias and much more we will begin to unlock our more inclusive selves.  This training has been taught at multiple state-wide CASA conferences, and helps to provide best practices in the work we do.

Building Empathy: Understanding the Challenges Caused by Financial Insecurity

Participants will engage in an interactive session, taking them on a journey to better understand the challenges faced by families who experience financial hardship and insecurity. On this journey, participants will be immersed in a real family's story, make difficult financial decisions that the family faced, and evaluate the outcome of those decisions. Through this session, participants will gain knowledge of economic and social systems that impact families experiencing economic insecurity, transform theirthinking about this complicated topic, and gain empathy for their neighbors.

Safety vs. Risk

This session will examine how Guardians ad Litem (GALs) and Counsel for Youth (CFYs) assess safety and permanency for children, and how CASA volunteers can support these efforts. We'll clarify the distinct roles of GALs and CFYs, especially the client-directed nature of CFY advocacy. Key topics include permanency options—such as reunification, kinship care, and RGAP—and the legal versus practical challenges in securing stable placements. We'll explore the concept of "safe enough" home environments, balancing ideal conditions with realistic support services. The session will also address tensions when children thrive in current placements but face return to financially struggling parents, and review recent case law affecting children's rights in dependency proceedings.

Special Education 101

Special education plays a crucial role in ensuring that all students, regardless of their abilities, have access to quality education tailored to their individual needs. Participants will leave with a foundational understanding of special education principles, processes for identification, the significance of Individualized Education Programs (IEPs), and practical supports available for students, families, and advocates to navigate the special education journey.

Mindful CASA Relationships Using Enneagram Wisdom

Participants will learn about two practical tools, Mindfulness and the Enneagram, to build strong connections and develop trusted, supportive relationships with CASA youth, families and teams. Participants will review Mindfulness, what it is, its importance, and strategies to use in our CASA work for attunement and regulation. They will also learn how our personality develops from birth to adulthood and why we do what we do.. They will learn about the Enneagram tool, an introduction to 9 personality patterns, and how awareness of patterns can lead to more mindful relationships. Increasing Mindfulness and use of the Enneagram to recognize our personality patterns, is a new Casability to move from trauma to triumph. Participants will also receive resources and references for follow-up.

Infusing Trauma-Informed Strategies in Advocacy and Practice

Being "trauma-informed" is more than a buzzword, it's a mindset and a skillset. This interactive session will break down what it really means to be trauma-informed in your role as a CASA volunteer or staff member. After reviewing the impact of stress and trauma on children, you'll learn practical strategies to support children and youth through trauma-responsive interactions, and how to evaluate whether other services in a child's life are using a trauma lens. We'll also explore how trauma impacts you as an advocate, with tools to recognize and manage compassion fatigue and secondary traumatic stress. Presented by faculty from the Kempe Center at the University of Colorado Anschutz, this session will leave you feeling empowered, supported, and better equipped to make a lasting impact.

Building Sibling Bonds

The sibling relationship is often the longest relationship any of us will have. It must be supported and nurtured to ensure that youth who have experienced foster care have a strong bond with their siblings. CASA volunteers play an important role in advocating for siblings who are separated from each other. We will discuss the feelings of loss and loneliness youth experience when separated from one another. Participants will learn action steps they can implement immediately on behalf of their CASA kids. We will explore The Sibling Bill of Rights and how CASA volunteers can use it to ensure the needs of their CASA kids are beings met.

Breakout Sessions

Through an Ombudsman Lens — How Families and Children Experience Colorado's Child Welfare System

Each year, the Office of Colorado's Child Protection Ombudsman (CPO) responds to over a thousand complaints from foster parents, respondent parents, service providers, youth, and others involved in the Colorado child welfare system. Each of these groups call because they are struggling to understand and successfully navigate the state's child welfare system. This presentation will present the most common questions and frustrations we hear from children, families, and providers across the state and how the CPO assists citizens in resolving their concerns.

Transition to Adulthood-Foster Youth Bill of Rights

Lead Sponsor, Rep. Lindsay Gilchrist, and Amy Pitlik, Colorado CASA lobbysit, will walk us through HB-1271: Federal Benefits for Foster Youth, the challenges she confronted on its way to passage, implementation, and next steps for subsequent legislation.

Lindsay Gilchrist represents HD-8 in the State Legislature. She has spent her career working toward complex policy solutions. A champion for our most pressing issues: improving the child welfare system, reforming the criminal justice system, safeguarding LGBTQ rights and implementing gun violence prevention policies. Lindsay and her wife are foster and adoptive parents and know personally how important it is for youth, particularly youth in foster care, to have access to mental health services.