Child Advocacy Centers are community-based facilities that reduce the trauma experienced by children who are victims of sexual abuse and severe physical abuse, by providing them with a child-focused environment and with timely treatment and service delivery.  

They promote a sense of safety and consistency for the child and family as a multi-disciplinary team conducts forensic interviews, medical exams, therapeutic intervention, victim support and advocacy, case management and case tracking.   

Child Advocacy Centers enhance evidence collection for effective criminal prosecution and enhance protective action in child protective proceeding. Their multi-disciplinary approach maximizes the strength of all disciplines that respond when a child is victimized: child protective services, law enforcement, medical professionals, treatment providers, and prosecutors. 

While the number of Child Advocacy Centers in New York state has grown, as have their services to children, families and communities, the state’s funding for these vital programs has remained stagnant for years. 

Funding for Child Advocacy Centers supports the entire team, including needs such as equipment for police and child protective workers, medical supplies and other medical costs, and specialized training on issues such as interviewing child victims, and medical findings. State funding that supports Child Advocacy Centers also makes them eligible for additional funding from National Children's Alliance.

Most important, funding for Child Advocacy Centers helps to ensure that children are not further victimized by the systems intended to protect them, as well as making possible the best possible outcomes, both  prosecutorial and therapeutic, by bringing necessary services together in one child friendly location.

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