The National Children’s Advocacy Center in Huntsville, a worldwide model for helping abused children, has received more than $4 million in grants from the U.S. Department of Justice.

The grants, announced by U.S. Attorney Prim Escalona and NCAC Executive Director Chris Newlin, total $4.25 million and are funded through the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) grant program. The NCAC was awarded $1.25 million for the Fiscal Year 2023 Victims of Child Abuse Act Regional Children’s Advocacy Centers Program and $3 million for the Fiscal Year 2023-2025 Victims of Child Abuse Act and Training and Technical Assistant for Child Abuse Professionals.

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“I am proud to announce that the NCAC has received these grants for its important work on behalf of children in Madison County, the Southern Region of the United States, and throughout our nation,” Escalona said in the announcement. “These grants are vital in sustaining this center’s mission to continue to provide training and support to professionals dedicated to responding to child abuse throughout our nation.  I am thankful for the ongoing partnership with the NCAC as we work together to provide a safer future for children.”

The NCAC is a renowned worldwide program that began in Huntsville in 1985 that is the model program for more than 1,100 child advocacy centers operating across the country and in 41 countries. It offers a welcoming environment for children who are victims of abuse and shares information with prosecutors.

The NCAC was founded by then-Madison County District Attorney Bud Cramer, who went on to serve almost two decades in Congress.

“We are so thankful for the continuing support from the Department of Justice and our partnership with U.S. Attorney Escalona,” Newlin said in the announcement. “This grant will provide critical training and support to equip child abuse response professionals and their multidisciplinary teams with the knowledge and skills to be the steadfast guardians of our children’s safety, ensuring a brighter tomorrow for all.”

According to the announcement, under the Victims of Child Abuse Act Regional Children’s Advocacy Centers Program grant, the NCAC operates the Southern Regional Children’s Advocacy Center program which provides coordinated, strategic training and technical assistance, and resources to state chapters, other Children’s Advocacy Centers (CAC), and multidisciplinary teams within the southern census region of the United States. The Southern Regional Children’s Advocacy Center was formed in 1995 and supports more than 41% of the more than 1,000 CACs currently operating throughout the United States which served more than 380,494 youth in 2022.

Under the Training and Technical Assistance for Child Abuse Professionals grant, the NCAC will continue to provide model training programs and support for federal, state, tribal and local professionals who assist in the multidisciplinary response to child abuse victims. The grant allows NCAC to continue to provide significant free virtual training through its Virtual Training Center, and continue operating the renowned Child Abuse Library Online, which is the largest digital library for child abuse resources in the world.