This page contains historical postings from the "News" Column on Casey Life Skills Home page and will keep you up-to-date on the exciting new things happening with Casey Life Skills. Please visit this page on a regular basis for important information concerning revisions and updates to the Web site.

What's New as of 1/1/05: Upgrades Are Here!
Upgrades to the Casey Life Skills tools are here including revised Ansell-Casey Life Skills Assessments, a new look Web site, and new Assessment Supplements! Please click here to learn more about these important upgrades. Haga clic aquí para la versión española.

What's New as of 10/1/04: Exciting Upgrades Coming in Jan 2005!
Exciting upgrades to the Casey Life Skills tools are coming in January 2005 including revised Ansell-Casey Life Skills Assessments, a new look Web site, and new Assessment Supplements! Please click here to learn more about these important upgrades. Haga clic aquí para la versión española.

What's New as of 7/19/04: Register now for the 2nd annual "It's My Life" Conference
The second annual It's My Life Conference will be held October 12-14, 2004, in Sacramento, Calif. Join this gathering where youth and alumni of foster care, child welfare professionals, caregivers, and others learn from each other. This year's focus is the economic success of youth after leaving care and the importance of establishing partnerships between alumni and youth. REGISTRATION IS CLOSED AS OF 10-1-2004.

What's New as of 6/11/04: Join the Casey Life Skills Listserv!
As a member of the Listserv, you will periodically be informed via e-mail about new features at the Web site and upgrades to the current tools. The Listserv will also be used to share ideas on using the Casey Life Skills tools in your work. To join the Listserv, e-mail us at aclsa@casey.org and enter the following in the subject line of the e-mail: SUBSCRIBE ME: CASEY LIFE SKILLS LISTSERV.

What's New as of 6/1/04: "Dear Abby" recommends the Casey Life Skills tools!
The world's most famous advice columnist, Abigail Van Buren, cited the Casey Life Skills tools as among the best in the field for helping youth transition to adulthood. Click here to read the June 1st edition of "Dear Abby" that cites Casey Life Skills and other valuable resources that promote successful adulthood.

What's New as of 5/4/04: ACLSA-IV now called the "ACLSA Adult Assessment."
The name of the ACLSA-IV has been changed to the "ACLSA Adult Assessment." Only the name has changed, the content remains exactly the same. The name was changed because the assessment is appropriate for not only young adults age 19 -25, but for all adults interested in assessing their life skills.

What's New as of 3/28/04: New look ACLSA Score Reports!
Based on user feedback, several upgrades have been made to the ACLSA Score Reports to improve their readability and ease of use. The upgrades are as follows:

• A title at the top of each Score Report that enables Score Report identification at a quick glance.
• Improved Score Key.
• The new Casey Family Programs logo and a different color scheme for the score bars. The new colors provide a clearer distinction between youth and caregiver scores on both the online version and print-outs.
• Grade in School, Primary Ethnicity, and Living Situation added to the demographic section of the Score Reports.
• Score Reports pop up quicker than ever.

What's New as of 3/27/04: American Indian Assessment Supplement Now Available!
This new supplement helps American Indian youth and young adults prepare for adulthood. Click here to access the Assessment Supplements, including new supplements for parenting and pregnancy.

What's New as of 1/16/04: Parenting and Pregnancy Assessment Supplements Now Available!
In response to extensive feedback, Casey Family Programs has made available three new Assessment Supplements designed to help youth and young adults improve their knowledge and skills in the areas of parenting and pregnancy.

These Assessment Supplements are titled:

1. Parenting Infants,
2. Parenting Young Children, and
3. Pregnancy.

Click here to access the Assessment Supplements.

What's New as of 1/15/04: Ansell-Casey Life Skills Assessments (ACLSAs) Now Available in French!
Click here to access the French assessments.

What's New as of 12/18/03: Casey Family Programs is pleased to announce the publication of "The Etchey Report."
This report is a survey of Independent Living Coordinators in the United States conducted by an independent contractor - Mr. Tom Etchey. The survey was conducted in September - October 2003 and identifies the independent living assessments used by the 52 US jurisdictions (50 states, Puerto Rico and Washington D.C.) to assess their youth in out of home care.

The report reflects assessment use as of January 1, 2004. As of that date, 33 US states require, prefer or use the Ansell-Casey Life Skills Assessment (ACLSA) for independent living assessment. Ten states require or prefer the Daniel Memorial Assessment, and nine require or prefer another assessment. The report also identifies Independent Living Coordinators' perceptions of the strengths and challenges for each of the assessments they use.