EPISODE SUMMARY:

The National Children’s Alliance (NCA) Standards of Accreditation help ensure that all children across the U.S. served by Children’s Advocacy Centers (CACs) receive consistent, evidence-based services that help them heal from abuse. The Standards for Accredited Members are reviewed through a process coordinated by the NCA Accreditation Department every five years, consistent with the five-year period after which reaccreditation is required. This is done to ensure the Standards reflect the latest evidence and practice.

In this episode, Tony speaks with Alyson MacKenzie and Alyssa Todd with the NCA Accreditation Department. During their conversation, they discuss the Standards for Accreditation for Children’s Advocacy Centers - its revision process and the changes that take effect January 1, 2023.

• Importance of the NCA Standards (2:23)
• Revision process (5:40)
• Taskforce groups (9:05)
• Standard changes (12:35)
  • Multidisciplinary Team (13:10)
  • Diversity, Equity, and Access (16:16)
  • Forensic Interview (19:36)
  • Victim Support and Advocacy (20:39)
  • Medical Evaluation (22:37)
  • Mental Health (25:30)
  • Case Review and Coordination (26:56)
  • Case Tracking (28:30)
  • Organizational Capacity (28:50)
  • Child Safety and Protection (32:47)
• Optional Standards (36:57)
• Resources (40:36)

GUESTS:

Alyson MacKenzie is the Director of Accreditation with National Children’s Alliance. Alyson has been with NCA for 14 years and focused solely on accreditation the last 7 years.

Alyssa Todd is the Accreditation Coordinator with National Children’s Alliance. Alyssa has been with NCA for almost three years in the accreditation department. Prior to joining NCA, Alyssa was CAC Director.

RECOMMENDED RESOURCES:

• Accreditation Bootcamp 2.0: https://learn.nationalchildrensalliance.org/p/AccreditationBootcamp2023
• Changes to 2023 Standards: http://www.nrcac.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/2023-Standards-Changes.pdf
• Getting to Know the Standards, 2023 - Webinar Series: https://learn.nationalchildrensalliance.org/products/getting-to-know-the-standards-2023-webinar-series
• NCA Engage: https://engage.nationalchildrensalliance.org/home
• NCA’s National Standards of Accreditation: https://www.nationalchildrensalliance.org/ncas-standards-for-accredited-members/
• Northeast Regional Children’s Advocacy Center: https://www.nrcac.org/resources/nca-accreditation-standards/
• Regional Children’s Advocacy Centers: https://www.regionalcacs.org

Have an idea for a future Team Talk guest or topic? We want to hear from you! Email your suggestions to Tony DeVincenzo at tony@nrcac.org.

Disclaimer: This project was sponsored by NRCAC from Grant Award Number 2019-CI-FX-K005 and CFDA #16.758 awarded by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, Department of Justice. The opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Department of Justice, OJJDP or NRCAC.