NCJ Number
153411
Date Published
Unknown
Length
5 pages
Annotation
Children's advocacy centers (CAC's) may take years to develop, and communities can begin with a vision of how to improve services to children and families through organizational development techniques.
Abstract
The startup phase of CAC's involves establishing goals, public relations work, and flexible leadership. The structuring phase is characterized by short-term decisionmaking, conflict resolution, and long-term planning. Activities in this phase focus on adopting a particular CAC model, starting a specific program, or publicizing certain activities. The cooperation phase requires attention to communication, coordination, collaboration, negotiation, and networking. The main task of this phase is to develop an internal coordination and communication network so that misinformation is kept to a minimum. The productive phase includes many activities, such as implementing the CAC plan, establishing a volunteer program, and developing a data collection system. Finally, the completion phase focuses on evaluating implemented goals of previous phases.