This year's theme was "The Many Hats of a CAC Director" and the agenda was packed full. Learning, networking, catching up, celebrating the past years successes all while sharing common goals and challenges.
Speakers included:
- Andrew Agatston, CEO and General Legal Counsel, Child Advocacy Centers of Georgia, Inc.
- Jerri Sites, MA, Regional Training Specialist, Southern Regional Child Advocacy Centers
- George C. Wood, Attorney, Hartweg, Turner, Wood & DeVary, P.C.
- Paola Baldo & Amanda Vasquez, Illinois Criminal Justice Information Authority (ICJIA)
- Jessica Rodriguez & Jessica O'Leary, Illinois Attorney General's Office
- CAC Spotlight Speakers:
- Carrie Flanigan & Carrie Wings, Lake County CAC
- Carolyn Hubler, St. Clair CAC
- Todd Shackelford, Advocacy Network
- Trevor Peterson, ChicagoCAC
- Danielle Butts, All Our Children Advocacy Center
CACI staff are appreciative of the sponsorship of the
NCA
Statewide Project Funds, the grant funding support of
DCFS
,
V2
, who once again took care of the cost of our morning breakfast and to
Sugar Mama Bakery
for donating a beautiful (and delicious) CACI cake along with chocolate chip cookies!
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Have you ever wondered where the Illinois CACs are? Wonder no more! Click on the map to download a
.PDF
copy for yourself.
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This two day MDT enrichment conference features highly regarded speakers in their fields representing each discipline, with separate tracks for participants to choose from that will best meet their professional development needs.
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We are honored to announce that childhood sexual abuse survivor turned author, speaker, child advocate and activist
Erin Merryn
is on a mission to raise
$20,000
for CACI by
#GivingTuesday
, November 27th. Erin is also the founder and president of
Erin’s Law
and a longtime CACI Board Member.
#GivingTuesday
is a global day of giving fueled by the power of social media and collaboration. Your donation is tax deductible and you will receive an emailed receipt after donating.
The
mission
of the Children’s Advocacy Centers of Illinois (CACI), a chapter of the National Children's Alliance, supports and promotes Children's Advocacy Centers (CACs) through leadership, education and collaboration.
In Illinois, our
vision
is simple: to ensure every child in the state of Illinois has access to the services offered through a CAC. While we cannot stop abuse, we can make a significant impact through prevention education and multidisciplinary services provided to the children who have suffered the horrors of abuse.
Illinois remains one of the top states in the nation in the number of operating children’s advocacy centers, serving child victims of sexual and physical abuse and non-offending family members. There are
37
CACs in Illinois serving
98
out of
102
counties.
In FY18,
12,424
child victims walked through the doors of a CAC in Illinois to receive a forensic interview & follow up services for them
AND
their family. During that time CACI continued to increase services and its ability to support CACs. We also provided 28 trainings to 951 participants and coordinated 42 peer reviews!
Once again, we are humbled and thankful to have Erin take on such an awesome task and from the very bottom of our hearts, we ask that you join her!
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Greetings,
Right now, CACI is excited for 21st ChildFirst Illinois session to take place October 1-5, 2018 in Springfield, Illinois. Witnessing new forensic interviewers dive into this new skill always makes for such a positive and supportive week.
Several upcoming training registrations to open next week, so please make sure that you are watching your emails for those.
These will include:
- ChildFirst Extended, Springfield, IL - Nov. 27, 28, & 29th
- Team Facilitator Follow Up Training, Effingham, IL- Dec. 4th & 5th
- Team Facilitator Follow Up Training, Warrenville, IL- Dec. 11th & 12th
Registration for the Annual Advocate Training is now open, find further details and registration information below.
A reminder as we wrap up the first quarter in FY19, make sure that if you are conducting forensic interviews that you are attending peer review. It is required by the NCA Standards that forensic interviewers are attending at least 2 peer reviews. Please contact your CAC’s director if you are needing more information on dates, locations, and times of these quarterly meetings.
-Cara
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The use of data has never been more prevalent in our society. Child Advocacy Centers across the country can and are utilizing the benefits of this. While data can be used to track case information from cradle to grave – (intake to conviction), data analytics can be used as a tool to forecast potential outcomes, support decision making and improve collaboration among family, care-givers, case workers, service providers, and law enforcement. Analytics and a can improve how your organization listens, learns, and makes decisions.
It is also important to note that data analytics are an invaluable tool for obtaining and potentially increasing grant funding. As you know, obtaining grant funding is a competitive process. The use of predictive analytics can easily provide an edge to your organization. Data allows you to tell your story, visually showing your strengths and where your needs are within the agency, and when asking for additional resources data will allow you to “prove the need.” For the grant reviewer data provides relevant qualitative data and context for the numbers provided.
In the future it will become ever more crucial to bridge the gap between data and strategy.
The future of data is very exciting.
Jean
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Men Who Cook was held on September 22, 2018 at Chicagoland Speedway!
A fun and casual tasting event featuring 50+ local men serving up bite-sized samples of their favorite dishes for public judging to support the Will County Children's Advocacy Center's programs providing hope, healing and justice for abused children.
To see a list of winners go
here
.
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