Quarterly Insights From MACA
| | Welcome to MACA's Quarterly Newsletter! We're excited to share our recent developments, collaborations, and resources that continue to strengthen our mission of protecting and supporting children across Massachusetts. | | September Means Back to School | | |
As children across Massachusetts return to classrooms, safety, both online and in daily routines, is top of mind. At the Massachusetts Children’s Alliance (MACA), we know prevention begins with everyday conversations.
Digital safety looks different at each age. For younger children, age-appropriate videos like National Center for Missing and Exploited Children's (NCMEC) Into the Cloud introduce safe online habits, while reinforcing that if something feels “off,” it’s never their fault and they should always tell a trusted adult.
For teens, ongoing conversations about sextortion, manipulation, and healthy digital relationships are critical. In both cases, open dialogue remains the best protection. Beyond the digital world, NCMEC’s KidSmartz program helps families practice everyday safety: trusting instincts, identifying trusted adults, rehearsing emergency routines, and rejecting the idea of keeping “safety secrets.”
Awareness is crucial, and every adult has a role to play. Short, frequent conversations, whether at the dinner table, in classrooms, or during daily routines, help build resilience and confidence in children. Together, we can ensure this school year is one where children grow, learn, and thrive safely.
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Expanding Access to Mental Health Services Through PSB-CBT
In August, MACA proudly launched Cohort #5 of the Problematic Sexual Behavior–Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (PSB-CBT) Learning Collaborative, a cornerstone of our statewide Access to Mental Health Initiative. PSB refers to child-initiated behaviors that are developmentally inappropriate or harmful. Left unaddressed, these behaviors can cause trauma for children and families. The good news: evidence shows that when children receive PSB-CBT early, 98% do not reoffend and instead develop healthy, positive coping skills.
Learning Session #1 of Cohort #5 trained 31 clinicians and senior leaders, representing six CACs (Middlesex, Essex, Children’s Cove, Bristol, Plymouth, and Norfolk Counties) as well as partners from organizations such as Advocates, JRI, Healing Minds, BAMSI, and more. Importantly, four trainers-in-training advanced their progress toward becoming Massachusetts-based PSB-CBT trainers — ensuring this critical model continues to grow sustainably within our state.
By equipping professionals with PSB-CBT, MACA strengthens trauma-informed responses and expands equitable access to high-quality mental health care. This initiative embodies MACA’s mission: to pioneer the most promising interventions, deliver effective educational programming, and mobilize communities to protect children.
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Upcoming Trainings
CFTSI Training (October 2025)
Through a generous grant awarded from the Peter and Elizabeth Tower Foundation, this Child and Family Traumatic Stress Intervention (CFTSI) training is being hosted in partnership between Massachusetts Children’s Alliance (MACA), the Essex Children’s Advocacy Center, and Children’s Cove, the Cape & Islands Child Advocacy Center.
The Tower Foundation is a family foundation that helps children, adolescents, and young people affected by intellectual disabilities, learning disabilities, mental health issues, and/or substance use disorders. Their goal is to improve the lives of young people in our geographic footprint of Erie and Niagara Counties in Western New York, and Barnstable, Dukes, Essex, and Nantucket Counties in Eastern Massachusetts.
This funding will support MACA’s initiative to train 30–35 clinicians in Child and Family Traumatic Stress Intervention (CFTSI), an evidence-based, early mental health treatment designed to reduce traumatic stress symptoms in children. The training will serve clinicians in four counties across Massachusetts, with a focus on the Cape & Islands and Essex County, key areas within the Tower Foundation’s geographic priority region.
Through this project, clinicians will complete supervised cases to ensure high-fidelity implementation of CFTSI. By the end of the grant period, an estimated 90 children who have experienced sexual abuse, trafficking, or other trauma will receive timely, specialized care. The training investment will leave a lasting impact as participating clinicians continue to provide this critical support in their communities well beyond the life of the grant.
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View Our 2024 Annual Report
This year’s report reflects incredible progress across our statewide network, highlighting innovations in trauma-informed care, advancements in data and training, and the unwavering commitment of Massachusetts’ 12 Children’s Advocacy Centers to improving outcomes for children and families impacted by abuse.
We’re so grateful to our partners, funders, and multidisciplinary teams who make this work possible. Together, we are building a stronger, more responsive system of care across the Commonwealth.
Click here to read our annual report.
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If you are interested in hearing about future training opportunities or any legislative alerts on behalf of MACA, hit the subscribe button below or visit:
machildrensalliance.org/subscribe.
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Our mission is to pioneer the most promising, leading-edge ways that help victims of child abuse
To donate to our mission-driven work, click here.
Your support will:
- Ensure services for the nearly 7,000 children served annually.
- Promote a trauma-informed response for children affected by physical and sexual abuse.
- Provide the latest, most advanced trainings to professionals.
- Advocate for child victims at the state and federal level.
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Individuals Behind the Work
To view our Individuals Behind the Work video series, click here.
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MASSACHUSETTS CHILDREN’S ALLIANCE
11 Beacon Street, Suite 321
Boston, MA 02108
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