This brief document reports on the first year of a project aimed at determining the training and technical assistance needs of Tribes, Tribal multidisciplinary teams and child advocacy centers, and centers that collaborate with Tribes.
This preliminary needs assessment report gives an initial look at the landscape of multidisciplinary teams (MDTs) and child advocacy centers (CACs) that serve Tribal communities. It provides highlights of assessment findings as well as next steps, including recommendation for future years’ needs assessments. The assessment was guided by the basic question of why there are not more Tribal MDTs and CACs, with more specific areas of inquiry that helped identify how many Tribes currently had Tribal MDTs and CACs, how they are structured and how they operate, and shedding light on their strengths, challenges, and needs. Data sources for the preliminary needs assessment included in-person surveys, interviews with Native Child Advocacy Resource Center (NCARC) staff and consultants, and a review of existing resources and literature on Tribal MDTs and CACs.