Educating and advocating our elected officials in Washington on CACs and the kids we serve is critical to helping them better understand the role they play in helping kids and families heal. This live pre-conference Hill Day prep session with NCA’s Government Affairs Department will allow participants to discuss current legislative proposals impacting CACs, and help them prepare for their upcoming meetings with their US Representatives and US Senators. 

The National Children’s Alliance proudly recognizes outstanding individuals and groups that have demonstrated their commitment and dedication to children and their families through the promotion of the Children’s Advocacy Center model and mission. The mission of the National Children’s Alliance is to promote and support communities in providing a coordinated investigation and comprehensive response to child victims of abuse. The goal of CACs is to improve the community’s response to child abuse and to minimize the trauma to children and their families. This is accomplished through the coordination of law enforcement, child protective services, prosecution, medical services, mental health services, advocacy, and education.

Opening Keynote: Dr. Jessica Pryce- Strengthening Families Using a Racial Equity Lens

The recent and major events in our country have created an unprecedented sociopolitical context in which systemic racism has become a subject of mainstream public discourse. There seems to be a global awakening toward racial justice. This context requires a reckoning of how leaders understand and mitigate the problems of racism, marginalization, and injustice in our systems of care.

In this keynote, Dr. Pryce makes a compelling argument that to for leaders to change systems, they must practice looking inward. She implores leaders and community partners to identify their own personal philosophies, mindsets and values and how shifting those towards anti-racism will lead to true systemic change. She includes a discussion on evolutionary versus revolutionary efforts and offers strategies that lead to profound revolutionary change. Dr. Pryce has spent the past year interviewing courageous leaders who have been able to create positive and enduring change, and she will present on findings from key stakeholders on the best and most effective route to building an anti-racist community by sharing power and leading with compassion. Audiences consistently leave this keynote with knowledge that they can begin using right away, and with a renewed sense of connection to the nationwide movement to transform how we care for our employees and how they care for the most vulnerable.

Dr. Jessica Pryce, Assistant Professor

Room: Ballroom 

Join us to review the CAC movement’s accomplishments and milestones.

For the first time, our Annual Membership Meeting will be livestreamed from Washington to the entire NCA membership, free of charge and regardless of registration!

NCA CEO Teresa Huizar hosts the Annual Membership Meeting for the CAC movement, livestreamed for the first time to the entire membership, regardless of conference registration. During this meeting, Teresa will update the field on key priorities, successful moments, and powerful CAC stories as we look back and ahead to chart a common course toward a bold vision of a healthy future for kids. 

The in-person attendees will eat lunch from 12:30-1:15.
The live-stream will start at 1:15pm, please join 10-15 minutes early if you are a virtual attendee. 

The Adverse Childhood Experiences study, or ACEs, helped to build public understanding of the consequences of untreated childhood trauma and offer a causal explanation for the many social and public health problems we now know to be tied to child abuse and other traumatic experiences. Yet nearly 30 years later, our panel asks, does this tool tell the complete story? Advocates, clinicians, and communicators around the child welfare space will be interested to hear about what ACEs can and can't accomplish in terms of influencing public support for policies that benefit kids, how ACEs screenings can be used (and misused) in the CAC setting, and what's next for public health messaging that matters. Join Dr. Ernestine Briggs-King from NCSTN and Dr. Jonathan Purtle from NYU School of Global Public Health for a panel discussion moderated by NCA CEO Teresa Huizar that will also serve as our first live-to-tape episode of the One in Ten podcast.

Virtual Conference Attendees may start to join this livestream session at 9:50 am EDT

Ernestine Briggs-King, Ph.D, Child and Family Clinical Psychologist, Duke Health

Jonathan Purtle, Associate Professor

Teresa Huizar, Executive Director

What is happeniness anyway? Learn how to boost your well‑being with strategies from groundbreaking research in positive psychology, neuroscience, and mindfulness. Laugh your way to instant shift in mental state to increase your ability to solve problems and increase creativity. 

Brooklyn is a happiness and energy leadership expert. She helps leaders and teams build emotional intelligence (EI). EI is how we integrate our feelings and thoughts to manage ourselves and build stronger relationships. Successful leaders recognize the importance of managing energy to build emotional intelligence throughout the organization. In this highly energetic and interactive session, Brooklyn will reveal exciting insights from positive psychology. You will learn tools to improve mood, reduce stress, and increase life effectiveness.

Virtual Conference Attendees may start to join this livestream session at 11:05 am EDT

Brooklyn Dicent, M.Ed, Chief Happiness Officer