Native Child Advocacy Resource Center

The Native Child Advocacy Resource Center (NCARC), a division of the National Native Children’s Trauma Center (NNCTC) at the University of Montana, will serve as the OJJDP Tribal Children’s Advocacy Centers (CAC) Training and Technical Assistance (TTA) Provider. NCARC will provide TTA to tribes and non-tribal CACs and multidisciplinary teams (MDT) as they develop, improve, or expand CACs and MDT responses to child abuse cases in American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) communities. NCARC’s project involves implementing four goals: 1) Conduct, analyze, and disseminate findings from an annual assessment of the TTA needs of tribes operating CACs/MDTs, tribes that collaborate with non-tribal CACs/MDTs, and tribes considering or in the process of developing a CAC/MDT response on their own or in collaboration with a non-Tribal facility; 2) Collaborate systematically with Victims of Child Abuse Act partners (including regional CACs and other TTA providers) to leverage assets and capabilities efficiently, coordinate TTA approach to tribes and non-tribal CACs/MDTs, and support strategic planning; 3) Deliver systematic, coordinated, multimodal TTA to CACs, MDTs, state chapters, and tribal stakeholder groups, tailored according to need and capacity, in collaboration with VOCAA partners; and 4) Based on needs assessment findings and collaborative input from RCACs, develop and/or adapt curricula, resources, and other products to support tribes interested in developing CAC/MDT capacity, as well as non-tribal CACs/MDTs/state chapters interested in enhancing culturally responsive services to AI/AN communities. Expected outcomes of the project, which is national in scope, include increased understanding of the CAC TTA needs of AI/AN communities; increased ability of the VOCAA partners to meet the TTA needs of, and advance the CAC movement in, AI/AN communities; increased interest and capacity in AI/AN communities to develop tribally operated CACs; increased cultural responsiveness of non-tribal CACs that serve AI/AN children and families;  and the building of a hub of curricula, resources, and information on CACs in AI/AN communities.