Midwest Regional Children's Advocacy Center

• Jane reported that Accreditation Bootcamp letters were sent out to all CAC directors whose centers are up for re-evaluation. This training is going to be held November 1-2, 2004 at the Hotel Sofitel in Bloomington, MN. This training is open to all centers that are approaching their five-year re-accreditation and/or are preparing for their first site visit in order to become accredited.  All attendees will be given scholarships to cover training tuition.  Contact MRCAC with questions.
• The MRCAC Fall Conference will be held November 2-4, 2004 at the Hotel Sofitel in Bloomington, MN.  Brochures were sent out in July but can also be downloaded on the MRCAC website at www.mrcac.org.
• Kim talked about nominations for the Calvin Award.  The Calvin Award is given out to honor positive media portrayal concerning Child Abuse.  If you know of someone who has done this, nominate them by sending in examples of their media piece highlighting positivity, or a letter describing why this person deserves the award. Nominations should be sent in to Kim Martinez by mid-September.
• Jane reported that the cross-mentoring NACA conference held in Michigan in July went extremely well. Dr. Rich Kaplan from MCRC in St. Paul was one of the presenters.
• Jane also mentioned the upcoming National Summit to be held in Baltimore. Everyone present on the call indicated attendance at the Summit.  The Summit is cooperatively funded between the Regional offices and NCA.
• MRCAC will be holding a session of Basic Medical Training Academy December 8-10^th. It has yet to be determined if the December session will be held on the road in Michigan or in St. Paul.  Information will be given once final arrangements are made.
• Jane and Kim announced a new addition to the MRCAC website.  They would like to highlight both a State Chapter and CAC on a monthly basis that would include pictures.  The chapter president would be responsible for writing a summary of new happenings, State Chapter plans, etc for their state and submit it to be posted. Ohio’s State Chapter has volunteered to present first. 
• Jane briefly mentioned the Harley Davidson “Million Dollar Ride” to raise money and awareness about Child Abuse.  Jamie Caperton is a ride coordinator and should be contacted if anyone has questions, inquiries or needs resources to help promote the ride/cause. 

 State Updates:
 Illinois: In the process of finishing their second week of “Finding Words” training and Kathy reported that it has gone very well. They are also in the beginning stages of creating a statistical gathering program, beginning with 20 centers and branching out from there.  They are also working on gaining more legislative presence in the area of Child Abuse, especially since all CAC’s in Illinois received a 2.25% cut in funding due to recent budget cuts.

 Indiana: Carolyn reported that they held a session of “Finding Words” in Evansville recently, stating that they have another session scheduled for October in Indianapolis due to the training’s popularity, as well as two sessions to be held in Marion County.  She reports great results and feedback from participants.  Carolyn said that “Finding Words” has been successful due in part by a supplemental grant they applied for and received that helped fund items like faculty lodging, etc. Carolyn also shared that the Casie Center received funding from the Family Justice Center for domestic abuse programs.  They had applied for a $1.2 million grant.  It is not certain that child abuse budgets will receive any part of this grant, but it is an exciting step that both can enjoy since the programs are housed in the same building.

 Iowa: Sue reported that an appropriation grant amendment awarded to the Department of Public Health will provide $100,000 to the Department of Human Services, to be equally divided amongst the three existing Children Advocacy Centers in Iowa.  They are developing a plan to legislate for more funding next year as well.  Iowa’s State Chapter will be approving new by-laws and apply for a “Safe Start” grant to provide outreach programs for children exposed/raised in places housing Meth Labs.  Sue said that over the last year 2000 Meth labs have been discovered in Iowa. A meeting with the Attorney General is scheduled for the end of August to discuss medical and psychological services that could be implemented statewide.

 Kansas: Kelly reported that the Kansas State Chapter is working on a new training that will focus on creating an MDT regarding “Meth Babies”. Kansas will also be holding “Finding Words” training in January, May and August 2005.  The State Chapter continues to work on legislating for state funding.

 Michigan (via email): Nancy reported that the statewide conference is next Sunday, Monday and Tuesday in Mt. Pleasant and there are over 50 CAC staff attending statewide.  They were very fortunate that Michigan VOCA people have underwritten this conference so there is no cost for anyone to come to the conference.

 Minnesota: Patty reported that the State Chapter is working on a platform about Child Abuse to send out to all state election candidates in order to ask them what their stance is on the topic.  Once completed and sent to candidates, Anne Cherek will send the document out to the Advisory Board as a resource for all to share.  Patty also mentioned in regard to the “Million Dollar Ride” that after meeting with her local Harley Davidson dealer, along with an informational CD (received from Jamie Caperton), the dealer agreed to raffle off a Harley Davidson Motorcycle sometime between January and April of 2005 to help raise Child Abuse Awareness.   

North Dakota: Paula is currently completing her application for a North Dakota State Chapter. She said the potential chapter group already meets on a monthly basis.  A second CAC opened in Fargo and is currently applying for full membership.

 Ohio: Ben reported that there are two associate member centers applying for full member status. There are also 2 task forces within a tri-county area interviewing for new directors.  The Ohio Network is also preparing for a 2.5-day training targeting rural CPS and LE officials, on the topic of Forensic Interviewing.  The training is entitled “Beyond the Silence”.  Ohio plans to conduct “Finding Words” training sometime next year.

 South Dakota: Monica reported that she is working on completing and submitting an application for a South Dakota State Chapter and is excited to see it come to fruition.  Last week Monica and team held mentoring sessions with the tribal group in Rosebud, SD on Forensic Interviewing, and like other states in the region, will be conducting training regarding Meth Labs and subsequent topics. No dates were given at this point.

 Wisconsin: Brenda announced that the Wisconsin State Chapter is holding their State Summit at Wisconsin Dells, WI in December.  The State’s “mother” MDT’s are providing outreach to the LaCrosse and Wausau areas as they are in need of MDT training/mentoring. The Chapter will also be holding a workshop, presented by a member of the state FBI agency, regarding children exposed to pornography, and are looking forward to the workshop and insight it has offer.

 Respectfully Submitted,
Anne Cherek