1st Quarter Newsletter
March 31, 2022
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About the Florida Network of Children's Advocacy Centers |
Accredited by National Children's Alliance (NCA) as the state chapter of Florida, the Florida Network of Children's Advocacy Centers (FNCAC) is a membership organization representing the 27 Child Advocacy Centers (CAC) throughout Florida.
CACs are child-focused centers that coordinate the investigation, prosecution, and treatment of child abuse and neglect while helping abused children heal. CACs emphasize the coordination of investigation and intervention services by bringing together a multidisciplinary team to create a child-focused approach to child abuse and neglect cases. CACs are effective, hold offenders accountable, help child victims heal, and promote best practice by all of our MDT Partners.
In addition, the FNCAC and CACs are tasked with providing technical assistance, training, education and prevention outreach to members of their local communities.
Together, the CAC Movement in Florida is positively impacting victim services to child victims throughout the state and improving outcomes for kids and their families.
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What is a Children's Advocacy Center? |
A Children's Advocacy Center (CAC) is a child-focused, facility-based program in which representatives from core disciplines collaborate to investigate child abuse reports, conduct forensic interviews, determine and provide evidence-based interventions, and assess cases for prosecution.
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Member Spotlight: Emerald Coast Children's Advocacy Center
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April is Child Abuse Prevention Month! |
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Join us, Friday, April 1st for the kick off of CAP Month 2022 with #WearBlueDay! Tag us in your pictures online!
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April showers bring May flowers, but they also bring us Pinwheels for Prevention! Every April, known nationally as Child Abuse Prevention Month, Prevent Child Abuse Florida (PCA FL), in collaboration with the Florida Department of Children and Families and hundreds of other partners across the state, implement a coordinated, statewide campaign to raise awareness of child abuse prevention efforts.
Each year, child advocates plant blue and silver pinwheel “gardens” in communities across our state to represent the healthy, happy childhoods all children deserve, and the small amount of action it takes to make a difference in the life of a child.
We know that by shifting our focus to prevention and getting help to parents and caregivers when they need it most, we can make a meaningful impact and build great childhoods for all children. We know that parents and caregivers who have resources and support when they need them are better equipped to provide safe and nurturing experiences for their children. As a result, children have better mental and physical health and do better in school.
Children who suffer adverse childhood experiences are at higher risk of developing short - and long-term physical, psychological, and behavioral challenges that can rob them of their potential and impact the greater community.
Child Abuse Prevention Month provides everyone a chance to learn how they can play a role in preventing abuse and neglect, including adverse childhood experiences. It’s an opportunity to remind Floridians of all ages that they can help children increase positive childhood experiences, which lead to happier, healthier childhoods.
Please share information about your events by entering them into the database here: https://www.ounce.org/capevents.asp
By planting pinwheels in iconic places and lighting buildings, landmarks, and structures in blue you will help raise awareness even further. For useful tips, please visit their Pinwheel Garden page.
Also, mark your calendar! Wear Blue Day is April 1st! Join with other advocates in wearing blue and share your photos! You can order a customized T-shirt to wear on Wear Blue Day by visiting PCA FL’s T-Shirt order page.
Nonprofit organizations can purchase boxes of 240 pinwheels for $185 by entering the code P4P2022 and Tax-Exempt ID # here: online order portal. Also, any organization may order a “Micro Garden,” with 25 pinwheels and a sign for $50. You’ll also find lapel pins, magnets, and more and shipping is included!
#CAP2022 #CACMovementFL #PreventionRocks
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Member Spotlight: Children's Advocacy Center of Collier County
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Pinwheels at the Pier
America’s largest Pinwheels for Prevention Garden is in Naples, Florida
Soon after sunrise on April 8, 2022, a spectacular garden of more than 4,000 shimmering blue and silver pinwheels will begin to bloom in the sand at the iconic Naples Pier. The sparkle will be visible more than a mile along the beach in each direction. Pinwheels at the Pier, a free public art display conceived in 2016 and planted each April by the Children’s Advocacy Center of Collier County, has become the largest pinwheel garden in the U.S. and the only one planted on a tropical beach.
“The artistic approach is our way to maximize the opportunity that the national Pinwheels for Prevention campaign gives us to spotlight the often-invisible plight of abused children in Collier County and the services CAC provides,” says CEO Jackie Stephens. “Pinwheels at the Pier generates surprise and delight, resulting in new awareness and more children being helped.”
Each year the garden takes on a different art form under the direction of CAC’s Development Director, Bryan Lee, such as a long, shimmering ribbon along the coastline, a flowerpot blooming with pinwheel flowers, and a hand with a heart at its center. Members of the media, law enforcement and several local children’s support agencies that work with CAC stop by. Beachgoers watch the art being formed from the beach and along the pier. Anyone can join in and plant a pinwheel. When the garden is complete, popular NBC-2 news anchor Peter Busch gives a dedication, and CAC staff in logo t-shirts are available to answer questions or provide handouts. In the afternoon, the pinwheels are gathered up to be re-imagined in a new creation the following year, and CAC makes sure that nothing remains except footprints and seashells.
For information contact Jackie Stephens
239-544-3042, mobile 239-641-4542
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2022 Krimes Against Kids Conference
The 2022 Krimes Against Kids Conference site is LIVE and registration is open! This year, we are going to be hosted by our friends at Disney's Coronado Springs Resort, Monday, July 18th - Wednesday, July 20th. We are excited for our great line-up of speakers with this year's keynote, Dr. Brian Miller.
Check out all the details for this year's KAK Conference here!
#KAK2022
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FNCAC | (850) 671-4791 | 501 E. Tennessee St Suite B Tallahassee, FL 32308| www.fncac.org |
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