This year has been an exciting one for the Children’s Advocacy Center movement in Minnesota. We have twelve established CACs, five of whom are in pursuit of accreditation. The North Star Family Advocacy Center in Braham, Minnesota is nearing completion of their new space and the White Earth Tribe CAC is currently under construction.
We also want to congratulate all the recent OJP Development and Expansion grantees, funded through an annual $400k appropriation through the Minnesota state legislature:
- Central Minnesota Children’s Advocacy Center
- CornerHouse
- Family Advocacy Center of Northern Minnesota
- First Witness
- Matty’s Place
- Midwest Children’s Resource Center
- North Star Family Advocacy Center.
What’s next?
With all this movement and growth around us, I can’t help but look toward the horizon as we head toward the end the year. Our role at the Alliance is to provide technical assistance and support our members and multidisciplinary teams in empowering local communities to effectively and efficiently respond to allegations of child abuse. Our staff are here to walk that path with you.
Let’s have a conversation as the end of the year approaches: I want to hear from you about your priorities, plans, and dreams for the coming year.
Getting ready for 2018
In 2018, I anticipate a growing need for strategic planning as we continue to serve larger areas of the state. Developing a strategic plan is one of those tasks that require a significant investment of time and resources, and it can be a challenge with so many pressing commitments and demands on our time.
Are you thinking about developing a strategic plan? I can support you in that process by providing one-on-one technical assistance, plan development, facilitating conversations with your Board of Directors and stakeholders, and be thinking through how to keep that plan active in your hands instead of collecting dust on a shelf.
I can also provide guidance in a number of other areas:
- Budget management and development, with a focus on applying for ongoing sources of funding
- Technical assistance in meeting the National Accreditation Standards, providing you insight from the perspective of a site review
- Supporting public relations and community outreach to establish your CACs expertise and availability for services