Justice Department Honors National Children’s Alliance With Award For Professional Innovation In Victim Services

          WASHINGTON – The Justice Department’s Office for Victims of Crime, a division of the Office of Justice Programs, presented the National Children’s Alliance with the Award for Professional Innovation in Victim Services. This National Crime Victims’ Service Awards category recognizes a program, organization, or individual who has helped to expand the reach of victims’ rights and services.

          “The National Children’s Alliance is staffed by a team of talented and dedicated professionals, all committed to ensuring that Children’s Advocacy Centers across the nation provide the highest level of services to America’s abused and neglected children,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Katharine T. Sullivan. “Thanks to the Alliance’s laser focus on quality and comprehensive care, child victims across the country have access to a wide range of treatment and support that are helping them to find justice and a path to health and healing.”

          NCA is a nonprofit membership organization that helps communities provide a coordinated, comprehensive response to child victims of abuse through Children’s Advocacy Centers and multidisciplinary teams. NCA has nearly 900 CAC members nationwide, delivering services to nearly 400,000 child victims annually. In 2009, NCA leadership created the Thriving Kids Initiative program to help children grow and succeed and to enable communities to expand access to mental health treatments that reduce the lifelong effects of trauma caused by abuse. NCA has also implemented a mental health standard to raise the bar for child victim services. The 2017 Standards for Accredited Members requires CACs to provide victims with access to trauma-focused, evidence-based mental health care.

          “Children who have been physically and sexually abused deserve the full arsenal of support and advocacy that we have to offer, and no one is better at ensuring that high-quality services are available than the outstanding leaders and staff of the National Children’s Alliance,” said OVC Director Jessica E. Hart. “Today we honor an outstanding organization that for years has stood up for our most vulnerable citizens and provided a hope for children in every corner of our country.”

           The Office for Victims of Crime leads communities across the country in observing National Crime Victims’ Rights Week. President Reagan proclaimed the first Victims’ Rights Week in 1981, calling for greater sensitivity to the rights and needs of victims. This year’s observance took place April 19-25 and featured the theme, “Seek Justice | Ensure Victims' Rights | Inspire Hope.” The award recipients were honored privately and virtually with friends, family and Office of Justice Programs leadership.