Issue 24 | August 2023

Western Regional Children’s Advocacy Center (WRCAC) is committed to strengthening multidisciplinary teams (MDTs) and children’s advocacy centers (CACs) in our region and across the country with our collaborative partners. As part of our work, we are helping CACs in our region understand some of the recent updates to the National Children’s Alliance’s (NCA’s) accreditation standards that went into effect in January of 2023.

There are several updates and additions across the ten standards. However, it is important to note that the updated standards reflect an increased focus on the role of the MDT facilitator and the MDT overall. One of the newest additions to the standards relates to the onboarding of new MDT members. Essential Component J under Standard 1 states: “The CAC/MDT provides formal orientation for new MDT members regarding CAC/MDT process, policies and procedures, and code of conduct” (NCA, 2023).

Onboarding or orienting new MDT members in a formal way to the multidisciplinary team process and protocol is crucial to the overall team’s development and success. Onboarding helps with:

• Integration - A formalized onboarding process for new team members helps them feel welcomed, supported and part of the organization (Scott, Charles PR, et al., 2022). Orientation sets the stage for a positive experience with team members and is an opportunity to introduce your team members to your protocol, memorandum of understanding (MOU) and code of conduct.

• Engagement - Effective onboarding helps new team members feel supported, engaged, and connected to the team. This in turn helps with team member retention, greater satisfaction of team members and team success. It can also help with team member resilience as team members start to develop social connections and share knowledge and experience with one another (Scott, Charles PR, et al., 2022).

• Relationship Building - Onboarding helps new team members start building relationships with their colleagues. If you can incorporate several disciplines in the onboarding process, individuals have an opportunity to get to know more of their team members and stakeholders. Building relationships is essential in building trust, psychological safety, and collaboration on a team.

• Fostering Shared Goals and Purpose - As individuals, we each have our own reason or “why” we chose to be part of this work. Purpose and goals are what not only drive individuals, but teams as well. Onboarding is a great time to get to know the new team member’s “why,” but also, to share with them the goals and purpose of the MDT. Some teams may have their own mission or purpose statements, and this would be an opportune time to build excitement around that mission, your goals, purpose, etc.… Share information about how MDTs got started and how being part of one means that they are now part of an expanding national movement to better help children who experience abuse.

What Onboarding Can Look Like

Onboarding can and will look different for every CAC or MDT. How often a CAC orients team members will depend on the amount of turnover a team may have, but it is never a bad idea to ask current members to participate in the onboarding process either by helping present information or being available to answer questions. This helps with buy-in because then those team members feel valued and that they have a true role in the process.

Some key components of onboarding that should be included are:

1. Welcome and Orientation - Introduce your team members and CAC staff, conduct a tour of the CAC, share an overview of the MDT approach, and emphasize the importance of collaboration and coordination for the child and family, but also for the team members. Some MDTs have an orientation manual that they share with new team members. This manual can give an overview of the MDT process and often includes a list of frequently used acronyms. Acronyms can always be challenging for both new and experienced MDT members, so, a list of those is especially helpful. You can find a guide to create an MDT manual from our partners at the Northeast Regional Children’s Advocacy Center here.

2. Roles and Responsibilities - Clearly define the roles, responsibilities, and expectations for each discipline. Take this time to help new team members understand how their role fits in the larger context of the MDT and CAC. Provide copies of the protocol, MOU, Code of Conduct, and any other documents important to your team.

3. Information Sharing - Include how information is shared between team members and what is expected from the new team member in terms of information sharing. This is a great time to talk to them about case review agendas and how those are distributed and how data is collected and shared overall with the team and relevant community partners.

4. Case Review - Onboarding is the best time to help your new team members understand the importance and value of case review. You can share with new team members what the case review process looks like and emphasize the importance of MDT collaboration throughout the life of a case. Something you may want to consider is creating a video of a mock case review or videoing your team’s case review to show during onboarding. The Northeast Regional Children’s Advocacy Center developed a video called Building a Better Case Review Together. This video includes an example of a case review that may be helpful to illustrate the importance of having everyone’s voice heard during the meeting. It may be helpful to check-in with new team members after their first few case reviews to see if they have any questions or need additional support with the case review process.

5. Access to Training and Support - Take this opportunity to share what ongoing training and resources may be available to support your new team members. If you do regular team trainings or share information about online trainings, make sure they know how to expect that information in the future.

6. Answer Questions - Onboarding is a wonderful time to address any questions that new team members may have. Coming onto a new team can be overwhelming for some, so, make sure you take time to address any of their concerns and questions related to the team, processes, CAC, etc. Knowing that they have someone to go to about the process itself can be reassuring for new team members, so, just the fact of being available for ongoing check-ins or questions can be helpful.

Remember that onboarding is an ongoing process. It can help you establish trust and psychological safety on the team. According to Google, psychological safety is the most important element for team success (Duhigg, 2016). According to Scott, Charles PR, et al. (2022), onboarding is what makes organizational outsiders become insiders and that is essential to developing a true sense of community and team. Onboarding should include regular communication, feedback, and professional development opportunities. This helps team members feel engaged, supported, and prepared to effectively contribute to being part of the MDT. MDTs are at the heart of the work we do, so, we encourage you to actively onboard your team members and continue to provide opportunities for current team members to better understand the process and their roles. 

Duhigg, C. (2016). What Google learned from its quest to build the perfect team. The New York Times Magazine, 26(2016), 2016.

National Children’s Alliance (NCA). (2023). National Standards of Accreditation for Children’s Advocacy Centers, 2023 Edition. https://www.nationalchildrensalliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/2023-RedBook-v5B-t-Final-Web.pdf

Scott, C. P., Dieguez, T. A., Deepak, P., Gu, S., & Wildman, J. L. (2022). Onboarding during COVID-19: Create structure, connect people, and continue adapting. Organizational dynamics, 51(2), 100828.

WRCAC is supported by cooperative agreement #15PJDP-22-GK-03062-JJVO awarded by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice.

The opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this product are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Department of Justice.