The Family Service Association of Northeastern Pennsylvania (FSA NEPA) recently received a generous grant from the National Children’s Alliance (NCA).

The $31,139 grant supports the Children’s Advocacy Center of Susquehanna and Wyoming Counties (CAC) in its ongoing work with children who have been neglected, abused, or experienced a traumatic event.

The National Children’s Alliance (NCA) is a professional membership organization on a mission to make one big difference, one child at a time. Since 1987, the NCA has worked to be a voice in eradicating abuse as part of a powerful national movement to keep children safe. The NCA features the largest network of care centers supporting child abuse victims in the country. Each year, the NCA works with 961 member Children’s Advocacy Centers across the United States. Last year alone, NCA member Children’s Advocacy Centers served 380, 484 children and trained 1,598,005 people in child abuse prevention.

The CAC is a community-based, child-focused facility that utilizes a multidisciplinary team approach in response to reports of child abuse and neglect or other traumatic childhood experiences. The center provides a safe, comfortable environment for children and families as they move through the investigatory process of abuse reports.

Each child and family has the ability to receive comprehensive services through the multidisciplinary team which includes a forensic interview, forensic medical exam, victim advocacy, trauma therapy, and support services. The CAC is also a strong advocate to prevent child abuse and performs various educational outreach programs in the community to assist adults and children in recognizing and preventing child abuse.

“We are excited and extremely thankful to have received this grant from NCA. Through this grant, we are currently able to provide community-based training, free of cost to participants, focusing on the prevention of child sexual abuse. We are also collaborating with various community partners to develop additional educational and training opportunities for parents, community members, and professionals which will focus on the topics of Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) and Child Sex Trafficking. For individuals who don’t work in the areas of child abuse or law enforcement, it can be difficult to imagine that these things are happening in your community, or even scarier, within your own family or social circles; so I feel one of the most important steps to take is educating those around us because you can’t change what you aren’t aware of.” – Cortney Tabb, Director for the Children’s Advocacy Center for Susquehanna and Wyoming Counties

The CAC opened its doors in 2015. FSA NEPA, the parent organization to the CAC. was founded in 1895, when a group of involved and concerned members of the community established FSA NEPA to provide diverse services that empower children, individuals, seniors, and families to reach their full potential by building healthier relationships, and ultimately stronger communities.