Fact Sheet
Children's Justice Act Fact Sheet
The Alaska Children's Justice Act Task Force was established in
FY1999. The current mission of the task force is:
Children's Justice Act Task Force Mission Statement
Identify areas where improvement is needed in the statewide
response to child maltreatment, make
recommendations, and take actions to improve the system.
Children's Justice Act Task Force 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