Children's Justice Act Fact Sheet

The Alaska Children's Justice Act Task Force was established in FY1999.

Mission Statement

Identify areas where improvement is needed in the statewide response to child maltreatment, make recommendations, and take actions to improve the system.

Vision Statement

The Alaska Children's Justice Act Task Force will work to improve safety and healing for Alaskan children by evaluating and promoting:

• Early and effective interventions for abused children and their families;

• The integration of agencies and systems involved to reduce the risk of further trauma to children;

• The continuum of services that abused children may need to become strong, productive and stable adults.

The Role of the State Task Force

Section 107(d) of Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act requires the State Task Force to undertake a comprehensive review and evaluation of law, policy and the investigative, administrative and judicial handling of cases of child abuse and neglect and to make training and policy recommendations in each of the three categories in Section 107(e)(1).

Section 107 (e) (1) (A), (B) and (C) encompass the Children's Justice Act State Task Force responsibilities as follows:

• investigative, administrative, and judicial handling of cases of child abuse and neglect, particularly child sexual abuse and exploitation, as well as cases involving suspected child maltreatment related fatalities and cases involving a potential combination of jurisdictions, such as interstate, Federal-State, and State-Tribal, in a manner which reduces the additional trauma to the child victim and the victim's family and which also ensures procedural fairness to the accused:

• experimental, model, and demonstration programs for testing innovative approaches and techniques which may improve the prompt and successful resolution of civil and criminal court proceedings or enhance the effectiveness of judicial and administrative action in child abuse and neglect cases, particularly child sexual abuse and exploitation cases, including the enhancement of performance of court-appointed attorneys and guardians ad litem for children, and which also ensure procedural fairness to the accused; and

• reform of State laws, ordinances, regulations, protocols and procedures to provide comprehensive protection for children from abuse, particularly sexual abuse and exploitation, while ensuring fairness to all affected persons.

Children's Justice Act Federally Mandated Membership

Children's Justice Act Task Force Membership must include representation from the following disciplines:

• Law Enforcement Community

• Criminal Court Judge

• Civil Court Judge

• Prosecuting Attorney

• Public Defender

• Child Advocate (Attorney for Children)

• CASA Representative

• Health Professional

• Mental Health Professional

• Child Protective Service Agency

• Individual experienced in working with children with disabilities

• Parent Group Representative