The purpose of Children’s Advocacy Centers is to provide a comprehensive, culturally competent, multidisciplinary team response to allegations of child abuse in a dedicated, child-friendly setting. A child-appropriate/child-friendly setting and a multidisciplinary team are essential to accomplish the mission of Children’s Advocacy Centers and for accredited membership in the National Children’s Alliance.

The following program components are necessary for accredited membership in the National Children’s Alliance. For a complete description of the National Standards of Accreditation, click here.

Accredidation

Child Safety and Protection:

The Children’s Advocacy Center is comfortable, private, and both physically and psychologically safe for diverse populations of children and their family members.

Multidisciplinary Team (MDT):

A multidisciplinary team for response to child abuse allegations includes representation from the following disciplines: law enforcement, mental health, Children’s Advocacy Center, child protective services, medical, prosecution, victim advocacy

Organizational Capacity:

A designated legal entity responsible for program and fiscal operations has been established and implements basic sound administrative policies and procedures.

Diversity, Equity, and Access of Services:

The Children’s Advocacy Center provides culturally responsive services for all CAC clients throughout the duration of the case.

Forensic Interviews:

Forensic interviews are coordinated to avoid duplicative interviewing and are conducted in a manner that is legally sound and of neutral, fact-finding nature.

Medical Evaluation:

Specialized medical evaluation and treatment services are available to all CAC clients and are coordinated as part of the multidisciplinary team response.

Victim Support/Advocacy:

Victim support and advocacy services are provided to all CAC clients and their caregivers as part of the multidisciplinary team response.

Case Review and Coordination:

A formal process in which multidisciplinary discussion and information sharing regarding the investigation, case status and services needed by the child and family is to occur on a routine basis.

Case Tracking:

Child Advocacy Centers must develop and implement a system for monitoring case progress and tracking case outcomes for all MDT components.

Mental Health:

Evidence-based, trauma-focused mental health services, designed to meet the unique needs of the child and caregivers, are consistently available as part of the multidisciplinary team response.