Tribal CACs in Washington State

By Deanna Chancellor, NCARC Project Director 

One of my favorite parts of working for NCARC is the opportunity I have to get out and connect with our family of Tribal CACs around the country. Last month I had the honor of participating in a panel discussion hosted by the Children’s Advocacy Centers of Washington alongside Carmelita Smith, Director of the Puyallup Tribe’s Children of the River CAC, and Jade Carela, Director of the Tulalip Tribes’ Legacy of Healing CAC. The panel focused on cultural humility, building meaningful relationships with Native nations, and the jurisdictional complexities that accompany the child abuse response in Tribal communities.  

I got to visit the Puyallup and Tulalip CACs after the panel, and it was so inspiring to see the way these nations have made the CAC model their own. The Tulalip CAC, located on the reservation in Tulalip, WA, has wonderful displays highlighting their language throughout the facility, and the sitting room prominently displays a beautiful sculpture of a whale, reflecting the image on the Tribes’ seal. Jade, who also serves as an NCARC Consultant, told me about how much support the Tribes provide for the CAC, enabling her team to provide forensic interviews, advocacy, and therapeutic services in-house. I also got Jade talking about one of her favorite subjects, her commitment to relationship building as the key to effective Multidisciplinary Team (MDT) work, the topic she covered for us in a recent practice brief.  

My visit to the Puyallup Tribe’s Children of the River CAC, located in Tacoma, Washington, was just as inspiring. Carmelita showed me around their facility, a two-story home decorated with beautiful Tribal art. Carmelita told me about how their CAC could not have come into being without the efforts of a local community champion, Dr. Verna Marie Barlett, and about how gaining NCA accreditation significantly enhanced their credibility with their federal and state partners. The Children of the River CAC offers forensic interviews, advocacy services, and medical services, and they utilize an innovative tele-mental health program incorporating Puyallup culture. I was touched, hearing about how they provide the children who come to see them with their own drums and smudge kits. This is the kind of gesture that may seem small but can really set the stage for holistic healing.

I look forward to visiting more and more Tribal CACs around the country, as NCARC continues to support the growing number of Native nations that are developing their own MDTs and CACs. I am in awe of the Tribes that have led the way in developing NCA-accredited CACs, such as the Puyallup and Tulalip Tribes, and of the local champions that have done trailblazing work in their communities. In addition to creating healing spaces for their own children and families, Jade and Carmelita, like so many other people committed to this work across the country, love to share their lessons learned with other Tribes and communities who are wondering how the CAC model might work for them.  

Please don’t hesitate to reach out to us at NCARC if you would like to connect to other Tribal CACs to hear about their experiences. I also invite anyone who is interested in better serving Tribal children and families to join our monthly peer learning call. My virtual door is always open if you would like to sign up for our peer group, talk more about any of these topics, or if you have questions or thoughts about anything having to do with CACs in Tribal communities.