Continuing Education

CASA of Lexington offers many ways for CASA volunteers to earn the 12 hours of continuing education units (CEUs) they need each year. This includes our monthly continuing education trainings, which are also open to the public whenever possible; webinars and trainings from the National CASA Association; approved lists of books, movies and other media; and trainings on relevant topics made available through other organizations. Explore all of our continuing education options below!

Please log your CEU hours in Optima in order to receive credit. The Optima login link and a certificate generator for CEUs that do not provide verification of your completion are available on the Volunteer Dashboard.

CASA Book Club: Separated by the Border

6-8 PM, Monday, Nov. 10

CASA of Lexington Office, 3245 Loch Ness Dr. in Lexington

Volunteer Managers Jennifer Lamb and Heather Porter will be hosting our next book club on Monday, Nov. 10, from 6 to 8 PM at the Lexington CASA office. We will be discussing “Separated by the Border: A Birth Mother, a Foster Mother, and a Migrant Child’s 3,000-Mile Journey,” by Gena Thomas, with a foreword by Michelle Ferrigno Warren.

CASA volunteers can earn 2 hours of CEU credit for attending the book club, and an additional 4 hours for reading the book (if it’s the 1st book they’ve read this year).  That means that advocates needing CEU hours for 2025 can earn up to 6 hours at one book club. 

Advocates will need to obtain their own books, either at the local library or by purchasing where available.  You can purchase the book on Amazon here.

Book Title: Separated by the Border: A Birth Mother, a Foster Mother, and a Migrant Child's 3,000-Mile Journey

Summary from GoodReads: In 2017, five-year-old Julia traveled with her mother, Guadalupe, from Honduras to the United States. Her harrowing journey took her through Mexico in the cargo section of a tractor trailer. Then she was separated from her mother, who was held hostage by smugglers who exploited her physically and financially. At the United States border, Julia was put in detention as an unaccompanied minor. Gena Thomas tells the story of how Julia came to the United States, what she experienced in the system, and what it took to reunite her with her family. A Spanish-speaking former missionary, Gena became Julia's foster mother and witnessed firsthand the ways migrant children experience trauma. Weaving together the stories of birth mother and foster mother, this book shows the human face of the immigrant and refugee, the challenges of the immigration and foster care systems, and the tenacious power of motherly love.

The catalogs include clickable links to start the trainings. You should be asked for your email when you begin a training, and you will be emailed a certificate verifying completion afterward. Please forward your certificate to office@casaoflexington.org.

After completing a training or approved CEU material, please forward any certificate you receive to office@casaoflexington.org, or fill out our online CEU credit form here.