On January 22, 2025, Sacramento Steps Forward opened the 2025 Q1 CAS Assessor Certification Training.
This training series is required for all new CAS Assessors.
It strengthens your social work skills and equips you with the necessary competencies to help make homelessness rare, brief, and nonrecurring.
Please note that these training opportunities are designed for new CAS Assessors who are required to become certified and access CAS tools in HMIS. Existing CAS Assessors are also more than welcome to join us!
Discover a comprehensive collection of tools and guidance designed to support CAS Assessors, including critical updates, best practices, job aids, and training resources to enhance your expertise and streamline your workflow.
Training 1
CAS Assessor Training Series: CAS 101 & Best Practices
Join SSF to further develop your social work skills with this annual CAS Assessor required training series kicking off with the CAS 101 and Best Practices.
This 90-minute introductory training on the Coordinated Access System (CAS), its purpose, guiding principles, and key resources will give you a clear understanding of CAS and its various roles in providing support. Participants will learn the role of CAS Assessors, how to prioritize Extremely Vulnerable Households (EVH), and how to effectively use tools like 2-1-1 to connect clients with housing and support.
Resources
Training 2
CAS Assessor Training Series: HMIS and Developing Individualized Service Plans
Join SSF in this training that provides housing navigators and case managers with:
Resources
Training 3
CAS Assessor Training Series: Post Assessment Document Readiness
Join the SSF team to get an in-depth understanding of “Doc-readiness” requirements for CAS-participating housing programs. You will be equipped with skills to update client housing progress using case conferencing and referral tools. Attendees will explore the eligibility criteria, resources, and sub-population supports offered by various CAS programs.
Resources
Training 4
Intro to Conversational Case Management & Implicit Bias
This training equips case managers with essential conversational techniques to effectively support clients in achieving their housing goals. Participants learn and apply conversational case management principles, motivational interviewing techniques, and housing problem-solving strategies to foster client engagement and rapid exits from homelessness.
Resources
Training 5
Intro to Trauma Informed Care | Vicarious Trauma
This training provides an introduction to Trauma Informed Care (TIC) practices and skills to implement in your daily work as a CAS Assessor. Participants will learn to understand the impact of trauma, recognize some of its signs, and apply TIC strategies to potentially create a supportive and empowering environment for clients. This training also gives you the tools to foster empathy and enhance your ability to respond effectively to your clients. Finally, we will discuss how vicarious trauma fundamentally alters how individuals perceive the world and their place in it, often as a result of working within the Homeless Response System.
Resources
CAS Office Hours
Every Monday from 2:30 – 3:30 p.m.
HMIS Office Hours
Every Wednesday from 2 – 3 p.m.
Frontline Learning Collaborative
For updates and invites, sign up for our FLC email list. This offers provider collaboration and resource-sharing opportunities.
4th Thursdays from 10 a.m. – 12 p.m.
Rose Family Creative Empowerment
CAS Case Conferencing
We discuss and coordinate housing efforts and plans for those experiencing homelessness. This offers provider collaboration and resource-sharing opportunities.
Sign up via this form.
Email: CAS@sacstepsforward.org
Sacramento Steps Forward is a private, non-profit 501(c)(3) charity serving the Sacramento region. EIN# 27-4907397
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