#GivingTuesday is December 3rd
CACI is grateful for the support of our Board Member Erin Merryn as we roll into  #GivingTuesday  on December 3rd!

On that day, Facebook will match your donation! ( up to 7 million dollars on a first-come first-served basis )
CACI FY19 Annual Report
2019 Annual Advocate Training
On November 20th, CACI kicked off the Annual Advocate Training in Springfield with 59 Advocates in attendance and 7 speakers!
Northeast Regional Children’s Advocacy Center Training Specialist, Michele Mullen spoke to Illinois advocates about their role at case review, and the vital role on the MDT.
Kate Webster, McHenry County CAC Child and Family Advocate
McLean County Children Advocacy Center Advocates!
Building Resiliency in CACs & MDTs
Statewide MDT Coordinator Mike Burns and Training and Education Coordinator Cara Vock had the honor to teach “Building Resiliency in CACs & MDTs” to the Carrie Lynn CAC MDT in Rockford, IL.

This free, 4 hour training provides teams with the skills to build their resiliency, and in turn provides better services and outcomes to families. Contact Mike to schedule your team’s training today!
2020 CHAMPIONS OF CHILDREN CONFERENCE
The Board of Directors Blueprint is a self-paced, four-module training that is ideal for onboarding new CAC board members as well as for existing board members to better understand their roles and responsibilities. Being a board member of a CAC can have its own set of challenges, unique from other types of boards—whether it be fundraising, increasing awareness and community support, hiring and supporting Executive Directors, or ensuring that the organization is equipped to deal with vicarious trauma/secondary traumatic stress that may affect staff and the CAC’s ability to provide consistent, quality services.

Through SRCAC’s extensive work with boards over the years, these four modules—which make up the course—reflect the areas that have emerged as being most essential for board members to understand in order for them to have the most impact on the operations of their CACs:

  • Module 1: The CAC Model
  • Module 2: Hiring, Supporting, and Evaluating the Executive Director
  • Module 3: Roles and Responsibilities
  • Module 4: Vicarious Trauma and Secondary Traumatic Stress

To learn more about the Blueprint and to access it free of charge, go to http://www.srcac.org/board-of-directors-blueprint/ . 
Chaplains and CACs: Effective Collaborations to Address the Spiritual Impact of Abuse
Dozens of studies have found that abused and neglected children are often impacted spiritually and that addressing these spiritual injuries can have a profound impact on the medical and mental health of a child. In 2013, GNCPTC proposed that CACs consider incorporating a chaplain into CAC or MDT responses to child abuse. The Julie Valentine Center in Greenville, South Carolina is the first CAC to hire a chaplain as a victim assistance specialist. This workshop will address the research that supports this work, how a CAC can incorporate a chaplaincy program, and lessons learned from JVC's first year of implementation.
Illinois Department of Children and Family Services Child Abuse and Neglect Hotline Review
According to the Illinois Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act (ANCRA; 325 ILCS 5),
the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS, the Department) must maintain “a single, State-wide toll-free number…which all persons, whether mandated or not mandated
by law, may use to report suspected child abuse or neglect at any hour of the day or night, on any day of the week. Immediately upon receipt of such reports, the Department shall transmit the contents of the report, either orally or electronically, to the appropriate Child Protective
Services Unit. Any other person may use the State-wide number to obtain assistance or information concerning the handling of child abuse and neglect cases” (325 ILCS 5/7.6).1 Within the Department’s organizational chart, the Child Abuse and Neglect Hotline (the Hotline) is a unit within the State Central Register (SCR), which is operated within the Division of Child Protection (DCP). The Hotline is physically located in Springfield, and a small satellite office in Chicago was added in 2016. 
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THERE ARE SO MANY WAYS THAT YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE FOR CACI
The Children's Advocacy Centers of Illinois stands for the proposition that communities working together on behalf of child victims of abuse can make all the difference in terms of response and intervention – and in the lives of the child victims themselves.

Your support matters. There are so many ways you can give.
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