|
Midwest Regional Children’s Advocacy Center
Advisory Board Minutes
September 1, 2009
Present: Jane Braun, Anne Cherek, Kim Martinez, Paula Condol, Ivy Svboda, Jay Wood, Erin Baker-Dagget, Pam Meermans, Amy Boydston, Billie Larkin, Susan Ginder
Date of Next Call: Tuesday, October 6th at 11 am CST
Agenda:
National Chapter Summit: NCA will pay for a primary chapter representative to attend the chapter summit, October 14-15, 2009 in Denver, CO. A secondary chapter representative may also attend, however, each regional will need to approve the secondary participant in order for that person to attend the Summit. So, you need to send the name of the secondary person to Jane to get approved. Chapter grants should be utilized to cover costs for a secondary participant. All travel is to be arranged through NCA. Registration is Due September 1, 2009.
‘09-‘10 Chapter Stipend Applications: This year we are asking for more financial detail as to where your chapter receives funding from and how it is spent, as well as more detailed information for planned expenditures from the chapter grant. The deadline is October 31st.
Chapter Mentorship: Jane would like to create a chapter mentorship program to help orient new chapter coordinators. This would entail the Regional providing funding for mentors and new coordinators to meet and discuss coordinator job responsibilities. Jane asked for volunteers to be mentors - if you would like to get involved, either as a mentor or a new coordinator, email Jane.
Team Facilitator Training: MRCAC will be hosting a team facilitator training in 2010, and 15-20 slots would be available for attendees. We will update you with details as arrangements are made.
Journal Club Calls: In 2010, 94 participants will be on Forensic Interview calls, and 59 participants for Mental Health calls. We plan to add Victim Advocacy calls this fall. Please let your centers know that this free training option is available to them. If people are interested, they should contact Kim Martinez.
Anne name change: Anne’s email will change to anne.mcdonald@childrensmn.org effective October 2nd. Please take note to ensure your email will be received after this date.
State Updates:
Indiana: Jan emailed that Indiana had its first New Director Training
and it was incredibly well received.
North Dakota: Paula reported that they are gearing up for a chapter retreat where they will focus on cultural competency and CALiO. The CACs in ND are also all prepping for accreditation. The chapter is also exploring their options to hire a chapter coordinator.
South Dakota: Erin reported that the chapter is working on strategic planning, which has been facilitated through several board meetings.
Nebraska: Ivy reported that the chapter is working with HHS- A check box has been added to HHS forms that flags sexual abuse concerns and refer on to CACs. The chapter is also working on collaboration with other victim advocacy groups around the states, and several CACs are working on accreditation.
Missouri: Jay reported that the CACs in MO are re-organizing their financial affairs after multiple rounds of state budget cuts. We did some planning work with the CAC Directors over a year ago. At that time they identified several areas they were interested in doing long range planning in. We then prioritized the areas and decided on Professional
Development and Model Enhancement. We essentially divided the Directors
into two groups and put them to work. Our Directors meet as a Network every other month. The two planning groups meet in the off months to do their work.
The Professional Development Committee focuses on training issues. They
started by defining the professional areas and some guidelines for their
work. Those included:
In order to protect Missouri's children, the purpose of the Professional
Development Committee of the Missouri Network of Child Advocacy Centers is
to:
1. research best practices;
2. establish professional development guidelines;
3. identify and support training needs of multidisciplinary team
members;
4. evaluate outcomes of professional development guidelines.
The 2009 goals of the Professional Development Committee include (may be
expanded throughout the year):
1. Review/discuss with the Network members the National Children's
Alliance's definition of "forensic interview" and "victim advocacy".
2. Develop core competencies for CAC-specific roles.
3. Establish professional development guidelines based on the core
competencies.
4. Identify relevant training topics for multidisciplinary team
members.
5. Support training needs.
6. Develop outcomes and measures in order to evaluate the Network's
professional development guidelines.
At their meetings they work through these issues. We will take their
recommendations and then try to do fund raising to develop resources to put
on the training to support their professional development goals.
The Model Enhancement Committee is really discussing quality improvement
issues. They started by looking at the NCA Standards and discussed where
they felt they needed to develop additional guidance or best practice that
would support the standards in Missouri. Their guiding principles are:
In order to protect Missouri's children, the purpose of the Model
Enhancement Committee of the Missouri Network of Child Advocacy Centers is
to:
1. identify best national practices beyond accreditation standards for
the child advocacy center model;
2. promote these best practices within the Missouri Network of Child
Advocacy Centers and KidsFirst.
The 2009 goals of the Model Enhancement Committee include (may be expanded
throughout the year):
1. compile best practices for the roles of:
a. forensic interview
b. victim and family advocacy
c. mental health
d. medical
2. review/discuss these best practices with the CAC Network;
3. evaluate implementation possibilities at the direct service level.
One of the initial issues raised by the Model Enhancement Committee has been
in the area of growth planning and we have been surveying the Directors on
several issues. We have also just completed a lengthy survey on mental
health services and providers. I will follow that up with site visits to
actually meet with some providers. We hope to use this as a baseline for
developing trauma focused work in Missouri.
Ohio: Pam reported that interviews have begun for the chapter coordinator position in Ohio. The chapter has formed a mentor relationship with Jan Lutz to help with coordinator interviews. The CACs are also dealing with severe budget cuts similar to other states in the region.
Kansas: Amy reported that Jane came to meet with the chapter board meeting and CAC directors meeting, and Jane was very well received and the chapter was appreciative for Jane’s attendance. CAC funding in KS will likely be affected by lowering grant amounts awarded. The chapter is showing Accreditation videos at CAC director meetings to discuss center needs/challenges in meeting accreditation standards. Amy said utilizing the videos in this manner has been very beneficial.
Illinois: Billie reported that the chapter is going through chapter accreditation, and the annual director’s meeting will also be taking place next week. The CACs in IL are stable with funding for the time being, and have all been advised to prepare for cuts for the next state fiscal cycle. The chapter also utilized the accreditation videos at 4 regional trainings around the state.
Minnesota: Susan reported that the chapter is working on hiring a coordinator and planning for chapter accreditation in 2011. They are also still working on their 501c3 application as well. Lastly, Tom Frost, the director at CornerHouse, will be retiring at the end of 2009.
|
