Dear Friends,

It's an exciting time of year, May is my favorite month. Kids are finishing up this school year and ready for some summer fun and the weather is so beautiful. My favorite holiday is Mother's Day, where we have the opportunity to celebrate our mothers and those who serve as mothers. May is also Mental Health Awareness Month. This year in particular, it is so important, we are regularly hearing that we are in a Mental Health Crisis in this country. Our children and youth are struggling at younger ages and in higher numbers than ever before. As parents, teachers, family members, and all who care about young people in our lives, we need to make an effort to learn.

Learn about signs and symptoms, learn how to talk to these kids about how they are feeling, and learn how to find resources. As well, we as the adults need to be diligent about our own mental health. I believe there is hope for a turnaround, but it won't happen on accident.

If you or someone you know is struggling with your mental health, please reach out for help. Some resources:

• Illinois Department of Human Services
• SAMHSA-Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
• National Alliance on Mental Health

Take care,

Kim

We also want to share some exciting news! We received 366 responses to our post-Champions of Children Conference survey, and the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive with many attendees sharing that they felt inspired, informed, and empowered by the sessions and networking opportunities.



Finally, we want to save the date for next year's conference: March 5-7, 2024, at the same location. We can't wait to see you all there and continue our mission of supporting and championing children and their families. Thank you again for being a part of this incredible community! 

We stand by our partners at National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.  Be a child advocate and join us in supporting the critical mission of the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. Visit missingkids.org for more information.

The CACI team has a lunch and learn provided once a month, where we invite another organization in to learn more about them and to share about CACI. We do this for potential partnering, networking, professional development, and to help widen our missions reach.

On May 12th, we were joined by Cassandra Ma, Psy.D,Founder and Director at Reclaim13.  Reclaim13’s mission is to end the cycle of sexual exploitation. This cycle begins in an individual’s life, and without intervention, continues into the next generation. Most trafficked children were sexually abused, neglected, or received other forms of maltreatment as children. Once abused, a child is more vulnerable to further abuse and, potentially, exploitation. Child sexual exploitation has potential long-term consequences in the life path of survivors, including vulnerabilities for intimate partner violence, further abuse, and involvement in damaging relationships. Reclaim13 intervenes in this cycle and works toward a world where all children can grow up feeling safe and loved.

The vast majority of the trafficked kids with whom Reclaim13 worked over the past decade were first

trafficked prior to or at 13.

Approximately 60% of the victims are African-American.

Kenny Matthews

Director of Finance

This month, I have some exciting recommendations!

For fiction books, I just finished "The Ferryman" by Justin Cronin. No spoilers, but this is one of the best books I've read in a long time.

For nonfiction books, I am reading "Upstream" by Dan Heath. Here, you will find practical ways to think about systems and embracing an active (over reactive) mindset.

For TV, I am watching "Silo" on Apple TV. Listen, Apple TV has severely stepped up its game and this might be the best debut of the year.

Cara Vock

Director of Programs and Member Services

Hello, I am passing along an opportunity from our colleagues at Prevent Child Abuse Illinois. Today is the last day for anyone who registers at the link below can view 3 great documentaries that explore the importance of resiliency.

CACs can use this as an opportunity for staff development or as a team building exercise.

Have a great week,

Cara

Mike Burns

Statewide MDT Coordinator

Just a reminder that the virtual MDT Coordinator Roundtable is on June 14th from 10:00 AM - 11:30 AM. If you need to register, you can do so below.

There is still a team slot for the July and August dates for the MDT Simulation Training. The July dates are July 18 - 19, 2023 and the August dates are August 22 - 23, 2023 in Springfield. If you and your team are interested, please send your team application to me via email using the button below. 

Ya'Shika Reed

Training and Prevention Specialist

May was a pretty busy month that provided us with a lot of great information and opportunities!!!! We started off with Racial Trauma Follow-up session with Dr. Deloach served as a follow up to the Racial Trauma presentation. The purpose of this session was to move beyond a one-time workshop format to deepen learning and foster application for the benefit of clients served. Using a coaching and consultation model, participants will discuss and apply what was learned in the Racial Trauma presentation as well as the ways in which race-based stress and racial trauma have been evident in current and past cases. Dr. D., also provided DEI for Leaders this training was designed to support leaders who care deeply about creating environments of inclusion where all members of staff feel that their identities are valued and the workplace is psychologically safe. This workshop focuses on the development of leadership attributes and behaviors necessary to create and sustain inclusive team environments. Dr. DeLoach’s presentation style, curriculum, and learning model empowers leaders, from executives to frontline staff, with the critical knowledge and skills needed to build and participate in more inclusive teams, employ more trauma-informed and culturally responsive supervision models, and learn how to effectively facilitate difficult dialogue to advance equity and inclusion within the team, organization, and the communities they serve.

Next, CACI hosted Prepare and Predict- The Science of Presenting Evidence and The Art of Presenting Evidence.The Prepare and Predict Method allows the forensic interviewer to prepare victims for the evidence that will be presented to them in the forensic interview process, while providing them an opportunity to predict what it is they are about to see and/or discuss with the forensic interviewer. Using this method provides the victim the ability to cognitively and psychologically prepare themselves for the topic at hand. This workshop provides participants with instruction, tools to present evidence using the Prepare and Predict Method through lecture, case examples and video clips. We would like to thank all the attendees that participated and give a friendly reminder that the evaluation survey is still open for completion. Also, we'd like to thank Ale Levi and Lauren Glazer for presenting and providing such a great training.

Individuals also participated in the final Motivational Interviewing Coaching session and Motivational Interviewing Advanced workshop session with Dr. Richard Rutschman. Thank you to all the participants over the MI series.

We will be wrapping up the month of May with our Quarterly Advocate Roundtable and Quarter 2 DEIJ Roundtable-Collecting DATA. We looking forward to seeing you as we finish out the month of May.

Michael Morgan

VOCA Program Grant Monitor

Thank you everyone that got there FY24 VOCA Application submitted on time. We will be working to get all applications reviewed and Award Letters out as soon as possible. As always, if you have any VOCA questions let us know.

The St. Clair County Child Advocacy Center has been working to establish a satellite in East St. Louis for almost two years. We recently met with administrators of the Jackie Joyner Kersee Center and have the opportunity to start a satellite in that facility. We are hoping to begin this summer. 

Congratulations to the following Illinois Children's Advocacy Centers

for being 5 out of 29 recipients of this generous grant from the

Poshard Foundation for Abused Children Inc.

💙 Franklin-Williamson Child Advocacy Center

💙 Perry-Jackson Child Advocacy Center

💙 The Amy Center 

💙 The Guardian Center

💙 Two Rivers Child Advocacy Center

April 22 - The Sangamon County Child Advocacy Center held their annual Trivia Night! CACIs Michael Morgan and Hanane Bousfoul were there in support!!

From the CAC. "We are overwhelmed by all of the support we received at our Trivia Night. It takes all of us to stand up to child abuse and we could not be more grateful for all who came out last night. Thank you for spending your night with us and supporting our mission. It truly felt like an entire community coming together. For the kids, always!"

May 15 - Senator Dick Durbin, Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul, and Dr. Norell Rosado from Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital visited the Chicago Children's Advocacy Center to announce that the STOP CSAM Act passed with a unanimous vote of the Judiciary Committee and would now advance to Congress. The STOP CSAM Act allows victims of child sexual exploitation to bring a lawsuit in federal court against online providers that promote or facilitate this exploitation and creates a criminal penalty for the worst of the tech providers that knowingly promote or facilitate online child sexual exploitation. The visit stressed the critical need for this legislation to become law in order to better support victims and hold tech companies accountable.