Why OCAS?
After 25 years, the Oregon Network of Child Abuse Intervention Centers name is officially out and Oregon Child Abuse Solutions is in! We loved the camaraderie and care “ONCAIC” conveyed… but it’s time we had a name we can say five times fast.
Firstly, we’re in love. We feel OCAS will adequately reflect the importance and breadth of our work. Among other things, we develop trainings, contract with experts on behalf of centers, monitor best practices, fill gaps in expertise, build more social and political capital for children, improve systems through targeted projects, and advocate for policies and investments kids need right now. We are relentless in working to make Oregon the safest state.
We are consistently asked to do innovative work and the accomplishments and opportunities keep coming! All that being said, we’re poised to mobilize our center staff and their communities and work together to build the supports and system Oregon’s kids deserve. We are excited about OCAS and we want to share with you why!
Oregon Child Abuse Solutions
Oregon: We won’t stop until every single child in Oregon gets what they need.
Child Abuse: Many organizations don’t explicitly state what they do. The name is general, or inspirational, but it leaves you wondering about their focus or impact. We know it’s hard to see and hear “child abuse” in a name, but it’s likely also hard to be a child suffering in the silence of this epidemic. It’s our duty to give voice and power to those who need it most – kids – so shouldn’t we just call this out? We think so.
Solutions: It was hard to rule out “Network” because we make a great team with the 275 professionals working in our over 20 centers. However, our work includes accomplishments separate of the work of centers. We sometimes even work with our local center experts to inform or improve services provided by professionals not at centers, or even in the same general area.
So, we asked ourselves, “what is it that we really do together?” and it became clear when we heard the word solutions. Finding solutions is exactly what we do, whether it’s one center improving a child’s life, or all of us working together to fix gaps. We discuss barriers, problems, and gaps impacting children, and together, we brainstorm, identify, develop, implement, and monitor solutions. Together we’re full of hope and our work is to solve.
We hope you like our new name and look, and that you’ll get involved!