National Children's Alliance’s Post

🌟 **Spotlight on Our Executive Director** 🌟 We're proud to share that Carrie Little, Executive Director of the Children’s Advocacy Centers of Oklahoma, was recently featured as a Guest Columnist in The Oklahoman. Her article, *"What a Loss of Congressional Funding Will Mean For Child Crime Victims in Oklahoma,"* highlights the critical impact of federal support on Child Advocacy Centers (CACs) and the children they serve. **Key Points:** - **The Role of CACs:** When a child walks through the doors of a CAC, the first few minutes are crucial for their recovery. Oklahoma’s CACs have been the frontline defense for children involved in severe abuse investigations for decades. - **Funding Crisis:** The foundation of this essential work is the Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) and its Crime Victims Fund (CVF). However, due to dwindling funds, CACs are facing severe resource shortages, which could drastically impact their ability to serve vulnerable children. - **Call to Action:** The Crime Victims Fund Stabilization Act of 2024 is a critical piece of legislation that seeks to stabilize this funding. We urge Congress to support this act to ensure that Oklahoma’s children continue to receive the care and support they desperately need. Thank you, Carrie, for advocating so passionately for our children and for shedding light on the urgent need to protect the vital services our CACs provide. Read the full article to understand more about how this issue affects Oklahoma’s most vulnerable children and what we can do to help. 🌐 https://lnkd.in/dPkNAjfu #ChildAdvocacy #SupportVOCA #OklahomaChildren #CACO

Protect children from the impact of Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) cuts. These cuts will have an effect on victim services across the nation, including Children's Advocacy Centers (CACs) at risk of cutting back resources or shutting their doors. Tell Congress to pass the Crime Victims Fund Stabilization Act (CVFSA) in the House to protect CACs and provide access for victims to get the support they need. Learn more, get resources, and share this post with your network to raise their awareness: https://loom.ly/hfbjECU

Over 380,000 child victims of crime have turned to Children's Advocacy Centers (CACs) looking for support and resources to face impossible and unfortunate situations. Now, they are turning to us to save the CACs as they face down an old threat: the VOCA funds, the lifeline for these CACs to reach these children, are dwindling. Rep. Ann Wagner and her colleagues, Reps. Moran, Dingell, Bice and Costa have introduced the Crime Victims Fund Stabilization Act (CVFSA) to keep agency doors open to crime victims who deserve our assistance. This temporary infusion of resources will help stabilize the Crime Victims Fund, while retaining the Fund’s original intent of being financed by legal fines and fees, not Americans’ tax dollars. Now’s the chance to loudly support a quietly vital element of our communities. We urge the House to pass this bill and make critical dollars available for the children, families and communities that need it. https://lnkd.in/g-d32FRd

"We believe everyone has the right to a life free of violence." That is our mission, and October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month. How can we continue to move forward for our clients? One way is educating the community about prevention and available services. Services: The Center for Violence Prevention offers services for domestic violence victims through The Beacon program. The Beacon offers free supportive services to aid in recovery, healing and justice for victims of interpersonal violence. We can assist with emergency shelter, an exit safety plan, law enforcement advocacy, therapy for you and your children, case management, and other resources and referrals that can help along the way. Prevention: Did you know that law enforcement can utilize a lethality assessment tool when responding to domestic violence calls? This evaluation tool helps determine when victims are at a higher risk for serious injury or death. Intervention is then provided to prevent violence, leading to safety or even saving the life of a potential victim. Community: You can support our programs by volunteering or by making a donation on our website at msc4vp.org. We also encourage you to follow and like our social media accounts to help spread the word about what we have to offer for those in need. *Intimate partner violence alone affects more than 12 million people every year, according to the National Domestic Violence Hotline. Educate, support, and stay aware of the reality of domestic violence. #Wherehealingbegins #msc4vp #DomesticViolence

Today is World Day Against Trafficking in Persons. It's a crucial day to raise awareness about the millions of victims of human trafficking around the world. Let's unite to support and protect those exploited by this crime. Here are three things you can do to make a difference: 1. Educate Yourself and Others: Learn about the signs of human trafficking and share this knowledge with your friends, family, and community. Awareness is the first step to prevention and support. 2. Support Organizations: Donate to or volunteer with organizations that work to combat human trafficking and support survivors. Your contributions can help provide resources, advocacy, and direct assistance to those in need. 3. Use Your Voice: Share information on social media using hashtags like #EndHumanTrafficking and #SupportSurvivors. Advocate for stronger laws and enforcement to protect victims and punish traffickers. Together, we can make a difference. #WorldDayAgainstTrafficking

Today is World Day Against Human Trafficking. Human trafficking is a cause that deeply resonates with me. This heinous crime involves traffickers exploiting individuals' hopes and desperation for profit, preying on the most vulnerable. The Tim Tebow Foundation reports that hundreds of thousands of children are being sexually exploited and abused by their offenders, while approximately 50 million people are enslaved by traffickers. Immediate action is crucial. Nations need to prioritize child protection, enhance legal frameworks, strengthen law enforcement, and allocate more resources to combat child trafficking. If you or someone you know is a victim or survivor, please contact local helplines. Let's support programs that aid survivors through donations and raise awareness about this issue. Together, let’s take action to put an end to human trafficking. #WorldDayAgainstTrafficking #EndHumanTrafficking 

The Network’s Vol. 1 Illinois Domestic Violence Hotline of #MeasuringSafety2023 is out now! What do survivors of #DomesticViolence need when they call the hotline? Among all contacts made to the Illinois Domestic Violence Hotline, survivors looking for shelter makes up over a third (39%) of all requests making it the top need among callers. Domestic violence shelter requests in Chicago increased by 43% in 2023. This high demand for shelter cannot be met with the number of shelter beds available to survivors in Chicago. For over a third of the year, spanning 124 days, there were NO available beds or cribs in domestic violence shelters, marking a significant 29% increase from 2022. We must support organizations providing safe housing to survivors and continue to advocate for more funding for stable long-term housing. Download #MeasuringSafety2023 here: https://bit.ly/3JHbhBx #MeasuringSafety #GBVData

The Federal Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) provides funding for victim-serving organizations throughout the country. In Colorado, over 200 agencies receive funding annually, including both nonprofits and government agencies. These funds are available to organizations to provide direct services to victims of crime. CACs in Colorado alone receive over $5 million annually, which makes up a critical portion of each center’s budget and allows them to provide wraparound services to more victims of child abuse. This essential VOCA funding is facing drastic cuts. In Colorado alone, organizations have been told to expect 40-50% cuts in 2025, which will decimate victim services in the state. More than 800 victims of child abuse may go unserved annually if funding levels are cut as expected. Reach out to learn more about how you can help protect victim services in Colorado. #Crisis4Victims #SupportSurvivors #Advocacy #SaveVOCA #ProtectVOCAFunding #VictimsofCrimeAct #VOCA

Help save VOCA! Survivors and victims of domestic violence, sexual violence, child abuse, human trafficking and other forms of violent crime need your help. Congress is working to finalize its budget for the next fiscal year, and the Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) is facing a reduction of up to $700 MILLION (40% of the current budget). This is a really serious problem! Thousands of organizations nationwide depend on this money to offer free, life-saving programs for survivors and victims. This reduction in funding is going to have a serious impact across the country and force organizations to shut down or cut back on programs, which means victims and survivors will have fewer places to turn when they're in crisis. Please - help save VOCA. You can use the link in this post to find a sample script and the information you need to call your member of congress and use your voice (and your vote!) to protect this critical program. Everyone knows someone who has experienced some form of these violent crimes. Help save VOCA for everyone, including your loved ones.