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.

MACA's 16th Annual Conference

MACA’s 16th Annual Conference, Healing, Hope, and Justice: An Advanced Conversation, brought together hundreds of professionals from across Massachusetts on May 7, 2026, for a day focused on collaboration, learning, and strengthening the multidisciplinary response to child abuse.

The conference welcomed victim advocates, law enforcement, mental health providers, medical professionals, child welfare workers, and other professionals for workshops addressing some of today’s most pressing challenges facing children and families. Sessions explored topics including supporting child victims and caregivers, engaging underserved youth, responding to online entrapment, and addressing the commercial sexual exploitation of children.

This year’s keynote speaker, Stephanie Block, PhD, shared valuable insights on child trauma and maltreatment, reinforcing the importance of trauma-informed, research-driven care.

The conference also provided an opportunity to recognize and celebrate leaders whose contributions have helped strengthen child advocacy efforts across the Commonwealth. MACA honored our Executive Director, Tom King, for 20 years of dedicated leadership, while also recognizing the lasting impact of our former board member, Alice Newton, and Jacquelyn Lamont for their contributions to the field of child advocacy.

We are so grateful to the presenters, sponsors, partners, and attendees whose support helped make this year’s conference a meaningful success and continue strengthening the statewide response to child abuse across the Commonwealth.

Celebrating Five Years of the

PSB Initiative

This spring, MACA proudly celebrated five years of the statewide Problematic Sexual Behavior (PSB) Initiative in Massachusetts, marking an important milestone in strengthening trauma-informed responses for children and youth with PSB. Over the past five years, MACA and its partners have helped expand access to specialized services, train clinicians and senior leaders across the state, and strengthen multidisciplinary support for children and families across the Commonwealth.

The celebration, held in conjunction with MACA’s 16th Annual Conference, brought together clinicians, partners, and leaders from across the country to reflect on the progress made and the work still ahead. The event also recognized this year’s Child Champion Award recipients, Dr. Jane Silovsky and Sharman Nathanson, LICSW, for their lasting contributions to advancing care and support for youth with PSB and their families.

View Our 2025 Annual Report

Our 2025 Annual Report is here! 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.

May is Mental Health Awareness Month

As we recognize Mental Health Awareness Month this May, we are reminded that healing from trauma requires connection, support, and access to care. At the Massachusetts Children’s Alliance (MACA), we know that trauma-informed mental health services are essential for helping children and families recover after abuse.

Through MACA’s statewide Mental Health Initiative, we continue working to strengthen access to evidence-based care across Massachusetts. This includes supporting clinicians through advanced training in specialized interventions, such as:

Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT)

TF-CBT is an evidence-based treatment model that helps children, adolescents, and caregivers address the impact of trauma. This resource is shared in partnership with our colleagues at the Child Advocacy Training Center (CATS), which provides multidisciplinary training opportunities for professionals working in the child advocacy field. Learn more about upcoming CATS trainings.

Problematic Sexual Behavior Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (PSB-CBT)

PSB-CBT is an evidence-based intervention for children and youth with problematic sexual behaviors and their caregivers. MACA continues to strengthen statewide access to PSB-CBT through training, learning collaboratives, and system-building efforts. Read more about recent developments in our PSB initiative in MACA’s latest annual report.

Child and Family Traumatic Stress Intervention (CFTSI)

CFTSI is an evidence-based early intervention model designed to help children and caregivers reduce trauma symptoms following abuse or other traumatic experiences. With generous support from the Peter & Elizabeth Tower Foundation, MACA recently partnered with the Essex County Children’s Advocacy Center and Children’s Cove to expand CFTSI training for clinicians serving Essex County, Cape Cod, and the Islands. This investment strengthens the CAC network’s ability to provide timely, trauma-informed care so children and families can heal and thrive.

MACA additionally works to address statewide barriers to care by supporting outreach to multilingual providers and helping families navigate pathways to treatment and support through our Service Navigator role.

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.

Our mission is to pioneer the most promising, leading-edge ways that help victims of child abuse

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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.

MASSACHUSETTS CHILDREN’S ALLIANCE

11 Beacon Street, Suite 321

Boston, MA 02108

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