September 30, 2021

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501 E Tennessee Street, Suite B, Tallahassee, Florida 32308

850-671-4791

CAC DIRECTORY

RESOURCES

CONTACT

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ABOUT US

The FNCAC is a not-for-profit, 501(c)3 organization that was founded in 1996 by the membership of six local centers.


The CACs cover 85% of the communities in FL where abused children can go to seek services We are an Accredited State Chapter of the National Children’s Alliance.


The primary functions of the FNCAC are to educate and support children’s advocacy centers through specialized training and technical support, to advocate for children’s advocacy centers at the state and national levels, and to manage and distribute funds to Florida’s children’s advocacy centers.

What is a Children's Advocacy Center (CAC)?

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Child Advocacy Centers


In FY 20/21, Florida CACs provided 49,327 direct services to 20,270 children identified as victims of abuse or neglect.


Resources

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2021 Krimes Against Kids Conference

The 2021 Krimes Against Kids Conference provided 56 workshops for leadership, law enforcement, prosecutors, mental health therapists, forensic interviewers, advocates, medical service providers, with over 200 in-person and 190 virtual attendees.



Participants shared the following feedback about the conference:


This was my first conference with you all. It was WONDERFUL! I was engaged the entire time throughout each session, and I was able to take back so much information to my team members. Thank you so much!!!


Completely loved the Implicit Bias and Intersectionality workshop. Learned so much.

This training was awesome!


I really appreciated having the handouts prior to the presentation as it made it easy during presentations to follow along and add additional notes to each reviewed point.


I enjoyed all sessions I attended and gained very useful knowledge to apply to my daily work.


I really like the venue that was used for this conference. I found very beneficial the information that was provided.


Very informative. Enjoyed attending very much.


Great Speakers that provided new information.


It was very good, and I thoroughly enjoy it.


Loved the first session discussing religion and spirituality as it relates to abuse victims; very helpful.


Great conference with a great atmosphere!!


All the speakers/instructors were excellent!


Amazing conference, I learned so much and cannot wait for next year!


I really enjoyed the keynote speaker and his topic. His presentation was the first time that I realized I needed to FIND the spiritual supports in my community/provider and make them part of my day-to-day toolbox.


The FBI speaker was great, bring her back


Keep up the great work!

Voyager, the wonder facility dog, registering with Michèle Vaught for the 2021 Krimes Against Kids Conference.

Some of the people who make it happen!

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In the news...

A Call to Action...Survivors Speak Truth to Power!

I’m sure you have heard about this testimony of gymnasts at a Senate hearing that happened September 15, 2021. Senator Coons from Delaware brought up how Children's Advocacy Centers can be used by the FBI and others to keep victims from falling through the cracks. Link to the full recording: Gymnasts Testify


Senator Coons: (55:57)

I just want to briefly share with you one of the most concerning parts of what you shared with us today was about your initial interviews with the FBI, where it was conducted, how it was conducted, that you were left alone as a teenage girl to have an interview by phone with an FBI agent who somehow suggested what you were testifying to wasn't horrific or tried to persuade you that it wasn't that bad or under a circumstance that made it clear to you that the person responsible for USA Gymnastics might be present and might have somehow compromised that interview. The whole way in which all of your interviews were conducted was just awful. Now, sadly, that's been the experience for millions of victims of child sexual abuse over decades in the United States. And the positive thing I just wanted to share with you today is that for years now, there has been a national network of child advocacy centers.


Senator Coons: (56:59)

There's one in each county in my state, which brings together trauma informed, child welfare professionals and law enforcement to make sure that victims are only interviewed once, that they're interviewed in appropriate settings, that they're interviewed in a way that respects and recognizes the trauma and the abuse they've suffered, and that ensures that your horrible experiences in terms of those initial interviews, and it's been compounded by your having to testify and speak again and again. We are working on that system, Senator Blunt and I will soon re-introduce a bill that will re-authorize this and double the funding for it. There's now a national network of 880 of these child advocacy centers all over the country. So I just wanted to share with you and with any victim of abuse or the families who know about their child's abuse who might be watching that what happened to you should not and need not happen again.


Senator Coons: (58:04)

There are professional, trauma informed, child welfare centered opportunities around the country to seek justice. And Ms. Maroney, I can see what I've just said has particularly impacted you. Thank you all four of you for your courage, your persistence, and your demands for justice. Thank you.

Florida has 27 Child Advocacy Centers - for a complete list click here.

Hope for Highlands Task Force

Submitted By: Sarah Beth Rogers


The Hope for Highlands Taskforce is a newly launched group in Highlands County that has a goal of creating a trauma-informed community. The idea for this initiative came after thoughtful discussion and research from the Children’s Services Council of Highlands County several years ago. In April, a local non-profit, the Champion for Children Foundation (CCF), elevated that research and discussion by forming a formal group to pursue this initiative. That group began with a small consortium of representatives from churches, non-profits, and government organizations and has grown to include over 40 individuals from key organizations across the community.


After meeting every other week for four months, CCF hosted an official kick-off event for the initiative and opened their doors to anyone in the community willing to learn more about becoming trauma informed. The kick-off featured a “care fair” where two dozen organizations set up tables and shared information about their services and programs. In the middle of the “care fair,” six local leaders spoke about pertinent topics, including adverse childhood experiences, the importance of being trauma informed, and trauma-informed trainings available to the community now.


The Ruth E. Handley Children’s Advocacy Center of Highlands County joined Hope for Highlands as an inaugural member and will be featured in the guidebook as facilitators for “Darkness to Light: Stewards of Children” trainings and screenings of the film “Resilience.”

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Thank you to our partner Florida Department of Children and Families for awarding FNCAC a CJA grant providing funds for the following training:




Training currently available: 45-hour crime victim advocates course

We Are A Multidisciplinary Team


A multidisciplinary team is a group of professionals from specific, distinct disciplines that collaborates from the point of report and throughout a child and family’s involvement with the CAC.

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FNCAC Board President Jackie Stephens discusses multidisciplinary teams (MDTs and Child Protection Teams (CPTs)

TUNE IN TO https://news.wfsu.org/


FNCAC Executive Director, Cindy Vallely, and FNCAC Board President, JackieStephens, were interviewed about child abuse and the child advocacy centers in Florida on Thursday, April 15th at 11:00 on Tom Flannigan’s show, Perspectives. Click the link to listen:


https://news.wfsu.org/show/perspectives/2021-04-15/florida-network-of-childrens-advocacy-centers


AMAZON SMILE


Help Support the FNCAC

when ordering through

Amazon Smile

https://smile.amazon.com/ch/59-3496460


Be like Voyager, get your Stop Child Abuse License tag today: click here to purchase your tag.

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SAVE THE DATE!

Due to COVID-19, the event has been rescheduled for February 5th, 2022.

Save the Date!


Event Information


Celebrate with us for our 25th Anniversary!

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Celebrate with us for our 25th Anniversary!

Upcoming Events


2022 Florida Krimes Against Kids Conference


Upcoming Board/Membership Meetings


Training & Events Calendar

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Contribute Here

www.fncac.org


This project was supported by AGREEMENT No. K05013 through funds issued by the State of Florida, Office of the Attorney General.

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