This month, the Chief Justice's Task Force on ACEs-Informed Courts held its second meeting in Wilmington over a period of two days. 

The mission of the Task Force, which holds quarterly meetings in various regions of the state, is to enable Judicial Branch stakeholders to understand the impact on children of exposure to ACEs (adverse childhood experiences; adverse community environments) and to develop strategies for addressing adverse consequences within our court system.

The Task Force members are appointed by Chief Justice Newby and are representative of stakeholder groups within our court system: judges, prosecutors, defense attorneys, clerks, law enforcement, private attorneys, and child-representatives, as well as academic leaders. This talented, experienced, and diverse group is supplemented with an advisory group made up of subject matter experts as well as representatives from law schools, universities, the Executive Branch, and private foundations.

This is an opportunity to leave things better than when we found them.

During this month’s meeting, the Task Force introduced new advisory group members, including Cape Fear Collective, Coastal Horizons Center, Foundation for the Carolinas, Kellin Foundation, North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, North Carolina Innocence Inquiry Commission, North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, North Carolina Department of Public Safety (Juvenile Justice), Novant Health, UNC School of Government, and Winer Family Foundation.

"I hope the information we gather through this process will lead to changed lives," said Chief Justice Newby of the Task Force. "This is an opportunity to leave things better than when we found them."