National Children’s Advocacy Center Receives Several U.S. Department Of Justice Grants to Serve Our Youngest Victims

HUNTSVILLE - The Department of Justice has awarded grants totaling $2,734,498 to the National Children’s Advocacy Center (NCAC) in Madison County, announced U.S. Attorney Jay E. Town and NCAC Executive Director, Chris Newlin.

“I am pleased to be able to announce that the Department has awarded grants totaling $2.734,498 to the National Advocacy Center this year,” Town said.  “These grants will allow this center to continue providing training and support to the many professionals who work with child abuse victims and strive to improve the judicial system’s handling of their cases.  And, now, with the Opioid grant, the NCAC will be able to provide additional  services to ensure that the most vulnerable victims effected by the opioid crisis, our children and youth, are supported as they heal from the impact of crime and substance abuse.” 

“The NCAC is excited to receive these three grants through the Department of Justice,” Newlin said.  “The two training and technical assistance grants have been managed by the NCAC for many years, and we appreciate the support and confidence shown by the Department of Justice over the years.  The Opioid Grant is a new three-year award which will support the NCAC’s efforts to collaborate with many agencies in our community including the U.S. Attorney’s Office to address the opioid crisis and its impact on children.”

The NCAC is receiving the funding through the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office for Victims of Crime and Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention’s Victims of Child Abuse grant programs.  Under the Training and Technical Assistance for Child Abuse Professionals Grant, the NCAC received $800,000 to support the continued development and implementation of a model training program for federal, state, and local professionals who assist child abuse victims through the child protection, mental health, and judicial system; and to support significant free training while continuing to operate the renowned Child Abuse Library Online (CALiO).

It also received a $1,250,000 grant under the VOCA Act Regional Children’s Advocacy Centers Program to implement the Southern Regional Children’s Advocacy Center, which provides training and technical assistance to state chapters, other children’s advocacy centers, and multidisciplinary teams in the Southern Census region of the United States.  The Southern Census region houses more than 45% of the 1,000+ CACs currently operating throughout the United States which served more than 360,000 youth in 2018.

Under the Enhancing Community Responses to the Opioid Crisis: Serving Our Youngest Crime Victims, the NCAC will address an urgent gap in crime victim services related to the opioid epidemic and to expand upon existing or establish new programs to provide services to children and youth who are victimized as the result of the opioid crisis.  With this $684,498 award, the NCAC will leverage its longstanding community partnerships to transform responses to children in Madison County, Alabama, who have been placed in extremely vulnerable situations as a result of the opioid crisis and parental substance abuse.  This funding will enable the NCAC to work with the multidisciplinary team, begin identifying these intersections, assessing unmet needs, and expanding services to ensure these victims are full served.