LEGAL GUIDEBOOK FOR CACs
Some of you might have seen this on NCA Engage, their message board – type system. (All of NJ’s CACs are members of NCA and are entitled to use NCA Engage and all of NCA’s resources – if you need help getting access, let me know and I’ll get you connected.)
Since most CACs in NJ are part of the county’s prosecutor’s office, you’ve got access to plenty of lawyers (too many, some might say!). But even so, a CAC can present unusual and even unique legal issues, and this guidebook can be a helpful start.
Here’s the announcement about it:
The National Children’s Advocacy Center Training/Technical Assistance Project for Child Abuse Professionals is pleased to provide to Children’s Advocacy Center (CAC) leadership and boards of directors the Legal Guidebook for Children’s Advocacy Centers. This unique and accessible Guidebook focuses on the potential legal issues that can affect CACs if they are brought into criminal, civil, or family court litigations. Over the last 35 years, CACs have evolved significantly but so too has the justice system as it relates to child abuse cases. CACs need to ensure that they have access to trained, competent legal counsel who can represent them in legal matters.
Written by attorney Andrew Agatston who spent over 20 years in the CAC movement, this Guidebook is not a substitute for legal counsel but rather a “primer” in understanding the basic legal issues that a CAC may encounter, the tools a CAC needs to have in place to prepare for and protect itself from litigation, and ways to educate CAC leadership and the board on the importance of having competent legal counsel.
The Guidebook includes six sections:
• Section 1: Three Tools for All CACs
• Section 2: Setting the Stage: What Is in Your Building That May End Up in a Courtroom?
• Section 3: Creating a CAC Legal Toolkit
• Section 4: Responding to Demands for Information in Criminal and Civil Cases
• Section 5: Testifying in Court
• Section 6: Hiring an Attorney for the CAC – Making the Case to the Board of Directors
Find and download the Guidebook via CALiOTM: calio.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/…