Molli is the Founder and Executive Director of the National Assessment Center Association (NAC). Prior to starting the NAC, she served as the Executive Director of the 18th Judicial Juvenile Assessment Center in Colorado focused on preventing and diverting youth from justice and child welfare system involvement. Molli has experience, expertise, and passion for collaboration across sectors to address systemic issues impacting youth, families, and community. She is a fellow with the Georgetown University McCourt School of Public Policy. She holds a master’s in public administration from the University of Colorado.
Assessment Centers aim to prevent and divert youth from juvenile justice and child welfare systems through a single point of contact. This point of contact identifies underlying issues contributing to concerning behavior and partners with youth and families to access individualized services and/or resources. The diversion occurs through intervention in schools, at point of or after arrest, at the request of parents/caregivers, or through partnerships with other community stakeholders. Through in-depth interviews and validated screening and assessment tools, centers work to understand the barriers youth and families are experiencing at home, school, or in the community. Following screening and assessment, Centers partner with the youth and family to access individualized resources and services to help overcome barriers and, ultimately, create a stable environment where they can thrive. Assessment Centers do not provide services directly; instead, they help families access the right help available to them in the community.
The National Assessment Center Association (NAC) supports a national network of Assessment Centers that help keep youth out of the justice and child welfare systems. They work with communities to design and strengthen these centers by offering tools, training, technical assistance, and connections to a peer network—promoting practices that are data-driven.
To learn more about Assessment Centers and access free resources—such as the Assessment Center Planning and Implementation Guide—please visit the National Assessment Center Association (NAC) website.