Episode 20 - Rising to the Challenge of Covid-19

NRCAC Team Talk

Teresa Huizar, Executive Director of the National Children’s Alliance, explores how the CAC Movement has risen to meet the challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic and what opportunities have arisen that may prove beneficial in the future.

EPISODE SUMMARY:

When the Covid-19 pandemic struck, Child Advocacy Center’s and Multidisciplinary Teams were forced to pivot the way they were providing services to children and families in the community. As the crisis continues, the CAC movement is learning that some of the innovative changes they have made may prove to be beneficial when the pandemic is behind us. In this episode, I speak with the Executive Director of the National Children’s Alliance, Teresa Huizar. Teresa has dedicated her career to the CAC movement serving in leadership roles at the local and regional level and for the past 14 years as the Executive Director of the National Children’s Alliance. During our conversation, Teresa shares her thoughts on the various ways CAC’s and MDT’s across the country have pivoted to meet the challenges posed by this pandemic all while continuing to serve children and families who have suffered the trauma of abuse.

Topics in this episode:

• Resilience of the people in the CAC Movement
• Accelerated use of technology
• Tele-Health
• Case Review
• Workforce challenges and opportunities
• Strategies to address vicarious trauma and secondary traumatic stress

RECOMMENDED RESOURCES:

• National Children's Alliance: www.nationalchildrensalliance.org
• One in Ten Podcast: https://www.buzzsprout.com/280046
• NCA Learning Center COVID-19 Resources for CACs, Partners, and Caregivers: https://learn.nationalchildrensalliance.org/covid

For more information on the Northeast Regional Children’s Advocacy Center, visit our website at www.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.