OUR COMMITMENT
Welcome to Michigan CASA U
Michigan CASA U is designed for CASA volunteers, staff, board members, and others involved in the child welfare community, as well as anyone seeking to learn more about effective advocacy and the child welfare system in Michigan.
Coming up Next:
Thursday, January 22, 2026 | 4 - 5:30 PM AND Tuesday, February 17, 2026 | 9:30 - 11:00 AM
Cultural Humility in Practice
Presented by Dr. Crystallee Crain
Although we missed Dr. Crystallee Crain’s session at the Michigan CASA Conference, she has graciously agreed to present her session, “Cultural Humility in Practice” for us.
This training introduces participants to the framework of cultural humility, inspired by the work of Josepha Campinha-Bacote, Melanie Tervalon, and Jann Murray-García. This evidence-based approach emphasizes the importance of co-creating dynamic and generative relationships with individuals from diverse cultural backgrounds and different cultural experiences from your own. This could be in regards to a person’s race, ethnicity, class, education level, gender expression, sexual orientation, religion, mental health capacities or disability status, political affiliations, or regional association.
During this workshop Dr. Crain will work with participants to identify gaps in understanding, capacity for humility and emotional responsiveness as it relates to their professional practice. Through a participatory framed experience, participants will be able to heighten their efficacy in their work by understanding how their biases, perceptions, and worldview impact their service to the community.
All participants will receive access to Dr. Crain’s workbook “Cultural Humility in Practice” digitally unless you received a hard copy at the conference.
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Meet the Speaker:
Dr Crystallee Crain (she/her/hers) is an interdisciplinary public health scholar and human rights advocate. She has over 10 years’ experience consulting nationally with clients in a variety of sectors.
Dr. Crain facilitates training with an emphasis on addressing trauma, prevention science, and participatory capacity-building. She has worked with organizations across the country to support them in actualizing people-centered values in the development and implementation of their mission and vision. She specializes in revealing layers of institutional inequality while supporting communities to shift ways of being and practice to improve life chances by bridging the worlds of research, healing justice, and community capacity building. Crystallee’s body of work represents a collective need to strengthen our responses to violence through transformative means, the need for liberatory practices, and a focus on healing as a strategy for change.
In October 2024 Dr. Crain was awarded the International Impact Book Award, in the Multicultural Category for her Cultural Humility in Practice Workbook.”
Thursday, February 19, 2026 | 4 - 5:30 PM
Talking with Youth About Stress in a Stressful World
Presented by Lacy Alana, LCSW, RSW, MSSW
In today’s world, stress is not only personal – it is collective, ongoing, and often overwhelming. For youth in foster care, everyday stress is layered on top of trauma histories, placement transitions, and systemic instability. At the same time, like all young people, they are navigating school pressures, friendships, identity development, and social dynamics, while also being exposed to complex and often distressing global events.
This experiential training supports CASA advocates, staff and other child-serving professionals in meeting youth within this full reality. Participants will learn ways of showing up that foster safety, connection, and regulation in the face of hard topics and big feelings.
Together, participants will explore how to support youth facing both the ordinary stresses of growing up, and the extraordinary stressors many foster youth carry. Advocates will leave feeling more confident, grounded, and equipped to support emotional regulation and connection during visits, even when conversations feel complex or emotionally charged.
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Meet the Speaker:
Lacy Alana, MSSW, LCSW is a psychotherapist, facilitator, and founder of Yes And Brain. With over fifteen years of experience across community, education, and healthcare settings, she specializes in nervous-system-informed, experiential training that supports connection, regulation, and resilience. Her work integrates brain science, psychology, communication, and play-based approaches to help caring adults show up with steadiness and compassion – especially in complex or emotionally charged situations. Lacy’s trainings emphasize practical tools, relational presence, and confident support for youth navigating stress, uncertainty, and change.