National Association of Counsel for Children

NACC advances children’s and parents’ rights by supporting a diverse, inclusive community of child welfare lawyers to provide zealous legal representation and by advocating for equitable, anti-racist solutions co-designed by people with lived experience.

Every child, parent, and family is well-supported in their community and has equitable access to jus

Internally, in the last 18 months, NACC expanded our leadership team and developed a supervision learning group to ensure consistency with the mission and vision and to provide support to our growing team, which includes three individuals with lived experience in foster care. NACC has increased its professional development budget annually for all staff. NACC's Executive Director was recently selected to join a women's leadership network called CHIEF and the organization is investing in this professional development and networking opportunity. Externally, NACC supports leadership development in the child welfare legal community. NACC is developing the 2nd edition of the Child Law Office Guidebook, to provide resources on best practices in leadership and children's law office management.

As a national nonprofit and child welfare attorney association, NACC has a robust network of external engagements to advance our mission. First, in 2019 NACC launched a State Coordinator program to provide local community building and leadership at the state level, and now has 41 State Coordinators providing support across the country. Second, in 2020 NACC launched a constituent advisory board, now called the National Advisory Council on Children's Legal Representation (NACCLR), which is engaged in NACC programs, board committees, and leads initiatives. Third, NACC supports children's law office leaders by convening a monthly child law office group and annual Children's Law Office Convening. Fourth, NACC hosts an annual National Child Welfare Law Conference which brings both legal education and thought leadership to our field. Lastly, NACC launched the Counsel for Kids campaign and leads a national advisory committee. NACC also participates on several national coalitions.

NACC adapted to external changes in the past year by doubling down on our commitment to race equity, diversity, and the co-design of programs and services with persons who have lived experience in foster care or the child welfare system. NACC engaged in a strategic plan review with Community Wealth Partners to update NACC's mission, vision, and organizational goals consistent with this commitment. NACC also engaged in a second round of race equity training with Race Matters Institute, to ensure our growing team had the education, resources, and support to advance our updated mission, vision, and goals. NACC takes a strong stand on policy positions and in support of diversity, equity, and inclusion and we will continue to support our team to do this. NACC has also been impacted by rising inflation and travel expenses, which, in addition to the pandemic, we also attribute to the 25% reduction in projected attendance at NACC's national onsite conference. NACC strives to keep costs low for attendees, but this is becoming increasingly difficult. We will continue to balance the costs and benefits of both onsite and in-person training, convenings, and events.