Diversity Initiatives

CASA of Venango County is committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion and demonstrates these qualities in its own operations, governance, management, and quality advocacy for children. Data on race, ethnicity, nationality, socioeconomic status, gender, sexual orientation, and disability is collected and reviewed for the children served to inform us about disproportionality and disparate outcomes.

We are committed to training staff, volunteers, and our governing body members to increase the awareness and understanding of issues relating to disproportionality and disparate outcomes within our local child welfare and court systems.

National CASA/GAL has created a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Learning Center which will be made available to all staff. The DEI Learning Center offers resources to encourage the network to reflect and identify ways to address racism, injustices, diversity, equity, engagement, and inclusion.

For staff, access the DEI Learning Center here.

“It is time for parents to teach young people early on that in diversity there is beauty and there is strength."

- Maya Angelou

We stand with those who are protesting against systemic racism in the U.S. There’s much work to be done. CASA of Venango County understands that change starts from the inside out. As leaders for children, we recognize we have a duty to play a part in dismantling systemic racism.

Below is a list of resources curated by the CASA network to help individuals learn and take action:

Books for Adults

Books for Children and Youth

Antiracist Baby | Ibram X. Kendi
Age Range: Baby-3 years
Introduces the youngest readers and the grown-ups in their lives to the concept and power of anti-racism.
We’re Different, We’re the Same | Bobbi Kates
Age Range: 3-7 years
Elmo and his Sesame Street friends help teach toddlers and the adults in their lives that everyone is the same on the inside, and it's our differences that make this wonderful world, which is home to us all, an interesting—and special—place.
Let’s Talk about Race | Julius Lester
Age Range: 4-8 years
Julius Lester says, "I write because our lives are stories. If enough of those stories are told, then perhaps we will begin to see that our lives are the same story. The differences are merely in the details."
Princess Hair | Sharee Miller
Age Range: 4-8 years
Shines a spotlight on the beauty and diversity of black hair, showing young readers that every kind of hair is princess hair.
Something Happened in Our Town: A Child’s Story about Racial Injustice | Marianne Celano, PhD, ABPP, Marietta Collins, PhD, and Ann Hazzard, PhD, ABPP
Age Range: 4-8 years
The story aims to answer children’s questions about such traumatic events and to help children identify and counter racial injustice in their own lives.
How it Went Down | Kevlar Magoon
Age Range: 14-18 years
When 16-year-old Tariq, a black teen, is shot and killed by a white man, every witness has a slightly different perception of the chain of events leading up to the murder. This is an important book about perception and race.

Supporting LGBTQ Children and Youth

Human Rights Campaign
The Human Rights Campaign and the Human Rights Campaign Foundation together serve as America's largest civil rights organization working to achieve LGBTQ equality. By inspiring and engaging individuals and communities, HRC strives to end discrimination against LGBTQ people and realize a world that achieves fundamental fairness and equality for all.

At the Intersection: Race, Sexuality and Gender
A report on a study to better understand what’s important to LGBTQ people of color. Read the full report here.

LGBTQ Youth in the Foster Care System
“Many LGBTQ youth have the added layer of trauma that comes with being rejected or mistreated because of their sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression.” Read the full report here.

The Trevor Project
To end suicide among gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, queer & questioning young people.

A Guide To Being An Ally To Transgender And Nonbinary Youth
The Trevor Project has published this guide to help begin your education on the basics of gender identity and expression. You’ll be able to better support the trans and nonbinary folks in your lives, and help to create a safer, kinder and more accepting world. The “Guide to Being an Ally to Transgender and Nonbinary Youth” is an introductory educational resource that covers a wide range of topics and best practices on how to support transgender and nonbinary people.