Casey Life Skills

A friend of mine is a Youth Re-entry Specialist. She works with youth who are in a correctional facility or children who were recently released from one. She works to help reintegrate the youth back into society. Her job is extremely challenging and stressful, but her job is arguably one of the most important jobs anyone could have (if you talked to her, she wouldn't even refer to it as a job - she has found her calling, and helping these kids is her passion - she rocks!).

Because she works with a large caseload (roughly 40 children at a time), and because she is responsible for creating individual re-entry plans for each child, she recently underwent training to become an Ansel Casey Life Skills Trainer. 

Casey Life Skills is a free resource that incorporates tools and assessments to help prepare young people for adulthood. The website offers several assessments for children and their caretakers, and each assessment provides instant feedback.

Most of the assessments are relevant for children eight-years-old and older so I have not been able to utilize them for my son (5 months old). But I am excited about this website because the resources are FREE, professional, individualized, effective and user friendly. I have only started exploring the website, but thus far I am thoroughly impressed. 

And I should note, these resources are appropriate for ANY child. Just because a re-entry specialist is using these resources doesn't mean that these resources are only suitable for at-risk youth. I would encourage any child caretaker to check out the website and utilize the tools, assessments and resources on an ongoing basis. 

And thanks for sharing this information with me, Alyssa - those kids are so blessed to have you on their side.