Dear Friends of Children,
It is with great pleasure that I invite you to see what CACI has been up to the last few weeks. Frankly it just amazes me!
The Champions Conference registered a record number of attendees, well over 300 with two full days and four tracks of training running simultaneously. And what is even better is that the evaluations from the conference attendees rated the training extremely high. Many thanks to the hard work of the CACI staff.
We were also able to hire a new MDT Coordinator, Mike Burns, former detective with the Bloomington Police Department. We look forward to all Mike's expertise as well as passion for this position, what a great match!
As most of you know I will be retiring from my current position at the end of the month, so much of this month has been spent working hard on transitioning duties. While it certainly is bittersweet for me, I want to thank all of you for your support and dedication to the office, to CACs around the state, to the children of Illinois, and of course to me. As was announced, Kim Mangiaracino will be the new director, so while the person at the helm may change, Kim's leadership will certainly continue to drive the work of CACs and the safety, health and protection of children.
I will fondly remember all of you, all that together we did for children in the state; my legacy is simply the efforts you do everyday on their behalf.
With great love,
Billie
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Passing of the Ronald!!
(Kim Mangiaracino and Billie Larkin)
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9th Annual Champions of Children Conference
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Thank you
to all who attended the 2018 Champions for Children Conference in Oak Brook at the Hyatt-Hamburger University. We had our highest attendance ever at 312 registrants and the evaluations were excellent! It is always so exciting and fulfilling to see our CAC and MDT partners learning, laughing, and networking.
This year saw four full tracks with many options for discipline specific training for: forensic interviewers, advocates, law enforcement, prosecution, and mental health with two amazing keynote speakers.
If you would like to download a copy of the brochure, receive handouts from the speakers, complete an evaluation of the conference, see more pictures, etc...just click
HERE
!
We are already looking towards planning for next year, so stay tuned for updates. Can't wait for 2019!
* Kim Mangiaracino
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Applicants must be endorsed by the Children's Advocacy Center in the applicant's service area.
All participants must attend all five days of training in order to receive a certificate of completion. If someone is unable to make this commitment, he or she should not apply.
Registration MUST meet a minimum of 20 participants. If 20 participants have not registered by March 30th, the event will be cancelled, all participants will be notified, and registration fees will be returned.
This has been met!
There is a promo code for attorneys wanting to attend this course. The attorney track is held Monday-Wednesday, and attorneys must be present the entire 3 days to receive credit. Please contact cara@cacionline.org for promo code and pricing.
MCLE's for attorneys and CEU's for social workers will be available pending approval.
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The CACI Council is made up of all accredited CACs that meet 4-6 times per year along with CACI staff and CACI board members assigned to the council to promote open communication and general information.
On February 27th, the CACI Council met in Springfield at Scheels and although we were missing our soon to be retired & fearless leader, Billie Larkin, her poignant words read by the passionate & determined incoming Executive Director, Kim Mangiaracino, left our eyes misty!
We thank everyone for attending, participating & doing EVERYTHING you do every-single-day. Thanks to Dr. Stephen Budde for his thoughtful and detailed presentation, Mark Parr for updating the group on new legislation and to Kathy Murphy & Barbara Karr for sharing VOCA information. We also were excited to formally introduce Mike Burns to everyone as CACI's Statewide MDT Coordinator!
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Site Visit Schedule January 2018 through June 2018
(Tentative)
Tuesday, March 20 9 am Sangamon County CAC
Tuesday, April 24 10 am Champaign County CAC
Tuesday, May 8 11 am LaRabida CAC
Tuesday, May 8 2 pm Will County CAC
Tuesday, May 15 10 am Tazewell County CAC
Wednesday, May 23 10 am St. Clair County CAC
Tuesday, June 12 11 am Chicago CAC
Tuesday, June 19 11 am CAC N&NW
Tuesday, June 19 2 pm Lake County
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This two-day conference is a multidisciplinary conference designed for all professionals who investigate, prosecute and provide services for children involved in allegations of child abuse. This year’s conference includes the following topic areas:
· Childhood traumatic stress
· Forensic interviewing
· Including family members in child abuse investigations
· Understanding and responding to problematic sexual behavior
· Creative corroboration to build a case
· Adult survivors of sexual abuse
· Recent research affecting child abuse investigations
· Physical abuse: bruises, burns, bones, bellies and brains
· Advocacy and assessing risk
More information regarding the conference can be found
HERE
Early Bird Registration Rates end March 31, 2018.
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What Makes Children More (or Less) Likely to Disclose Abuse?
Good morning and happy Monday. I hope this finds everyone well. This morning, I want to take a moment to focus on children's disclosure of abuse-the moment that triggers so much of our work.
Read more
mailchi.mp
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Great CAC Easter Fundraising Idea
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Get your staff, board, MDT, community, etc together and start planning your next fundraiser!
You may be too late to get this one up and running for this year but you certainly have a big HOP on it for next Easter!!
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Get together with Doodle
The simple way to decide on dates, places & more.
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With
Doodle
, you can pick date and time options, and poll a group to see what works best for them. You don't have to sign up for a Doodle account to participate in a poll. You can also create a public Doodle URL, where individuals can request a meeting with you based on your listed availability.
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NEXT TEAM BUILDING EXERCISE???
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The Extraordinary Canines Of The Will County State’s Attorney’s Office
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Alicia Hoffman is the new Intake Coordinator at McHenry County CAC!
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April is Child Abuse Awareness month and AOCAC is inviting you to join us in honoring all 264 victims who received services at AOCAC in 2017.
Beginning April 9, 2018, AOCAC will place pinwheels on the front lawn of the AOCAC office to honor all 264 children and bring awareness to child abuse. The pinwheels will remain on the AOCAC lawn for 264 hours (11 days), one hour for each child.
The cost is $25.00 per pinwheel and the form can be found and downloaded
HERE
!!
Please join us in helping to raise awareness for child abuse and honoring these children.
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DuPage County Children’s Center Advocate Honored by U.S. Representative Peter Roskam
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Friday, March 2nd United States Representative Peter Roskam (IL-06) recognized Stephanie Mogensen for her years of service as a Case Manager with the Jeanine Nicarico Children’s Advocacy Center where she serves as an advocate for children who have suffered sexual and severe physical abuse.
“What an emotionally-challenging and rewarding job it must be to comfort a child in the worst possible state of their young lives – Stephanie does this with grace and compassion,” Roskam said. “She has taken on a job that very few people have the emotional capacity to do and she’s done it exceptionally well.”
“To Stephanie, it's not just a job. She truly cares about these victims and that makes her so effective and important to the office,” DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert Berlin added. “She's passionate. She loves her job and we're thankful she's here doing it. Her long service to the victims and their families is truly commendable.”
Prior to joining the Center, Stephanie worked in the Victim Witness Department of the DuPage County State's Attorney's Office. During that time, she realized she wanted to focus on helping children and making a difference in families' lives. Stephanie is a champion for many of the 400 to 500 children victimized yearly by sexual and severe physical abuse in DuPage County. She makes it her mission to monitor each child from the first phone call until the end of the criminal proceeding and in most cases, she continues to be a familiar face for the child and the family beyond the court proceedings.
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2018 Champions for Children Walk
Saturday, June 2, 2018
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Registration is now open for the 2018 Champions for Children Walk.
This year, we will be walking in honor of our dear friend and colleague, Ronelle Ferguson-Allen. Please join us in honoring her legacy and helping abused children by participating in this fantastic event!
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The La Rabida Children’s Advocacy Center (CAC) is a safe and child friendly environment for alleged sexual abuse victims and children who have experienced psychological trauma. The CAC provides investigative services to the 6th Municipal District of Cook County and therapeutic and support services to children and their families throughout the south suburbs.
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JOB OPENING: MDT Coordinator Position
CLICK
HERE
FOR JOB DESCRIPTION
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CHILD ADVOCACY CENTER FORENSIC INTERVIEWER
Job Description
Position Title: Child Forensic Interviewer
Reports to: Executive Director, Kane County Child Advocacy Center
Salary: $40,000-$50,000
Hours: 35 hours per week
Summary of Position:
The Forensic Interviewer conducts legally sound, neutral, fact-finding interviews with alleged child abuse victims working as a part of a multi-disciplinary team.
Specific Responsibilities
· Conduct child centered forensic interviews.
· Assist in the development and implementation of training for the multidisciplinary team members as well as other community professionals.
· Write reports to document a forensic interview summary for the child's file.
· Testify in court proceedings
Required Skills/Qualifications:
Knowledge of and sensitivity to family systems and child victimization. Knowledge of the overall child protection and legal system. Ability to communicate effectively with children and adolescents. Academic training or practical experience in and knowledge of developmental stages of children and the dynamics and effects of child abuse. Excellent written and verbal communication, computer and mediation skills. Ability to work well with a variety of discipline. Bachelor Degree required, preferably in Law Enforcement, Social Work, Psychology, or Criminal Justice, or the equivalent combination of education and commensurate experience in child abuse field.
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Two Rivers CAC invited CACI to present for a MDT training to provide consistent information for all disciplines who serve their 7 county service area. What a great day of training, discussion, and education!
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Children's Advocacy Centers of East Central Illinois Child Champions Day
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Unified Child Advocacy Network opens doors at new...
JERSEYVILLE - The Unified Child Advocacy Network (UCAN) celebrated the grand opening of their new Jerseyville location, 122 West Pearl Street, with a ribbon cutting on Thursday afternoon. Sharon Clagg, Executive Director of UCAN, said the...
Read more
www.riverbender.com
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Your support of our services will truly benefit the
39 Children’s Advocacy Centers (CACs) throughout the state by training and working with MDT members.
Children’s Advocacy Centers provide a bright light in a part of our society that is often dark and depressing. Let’s work together to make sure that we reflect this light to others and continue to challenge ourselves and others to help child victims of abuse become thriving survivors.
The 11,000 children that CACs served were trained by our office in forensic interviewing and advocacy, as well as ongoing support to the MDT members.
Your one-time gift or monthly pledge is a charitable donation that is deductible.
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