The National Children's Advocacy Center

National Symposium on Child Abuse - About 1,700 participants attend this annual three-day conference in Huntsville, Alabama. An outstanding faculty, made up of experts from a variety of disciplines, conducts training and shares the latest knowledge and skills in child abuse prevention, intervention, and treatment. For more information, click here.

National Training Center - Held in Huntsville throughout the year, this program offers training for child abuse professionals from throughout the nation. These weeklong training seminars focus on effective ways to communicate with victims, as well as team investigation and management. For more information, click here.

Academy Online - a series of presentations related to child maltreatment that are offered via the Internet. Academy Online is offered at no charge for participants. The sessions are designed to be viewed by either individuals or groups of child abuse professionals, at any time or day. Funding for Academy Online is provided by U.S. Department of Justice's Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. For more information, click here.

Customized Training - The NCAC develops and delivers customized training sessions on a number of topics. These trainings can be delivered on-site at the NCAC Training Center in Huntsville, AL, or in the host community. For more information, click here.

National Conference on Child Sexual Abuse Prevention - The National Conference on Child Sexual Abuse Prevention is sponsored by the National Children's Advocacy Center and the Association for Sexual Abuse Prevention. Participants learn about state-of-the-art prevention practices from those working in: schools, communities, outreach with offenders, research, and public awareness campaigns. For more information, click here.

Southern Regional Children's Advocacy Center (SRCAC) - The SRCAC provides information, consultation and training and technical assistance, helping to establish child-focused programs that facilitate and support coordination among agencies responding to child abuse. The SRCAC works in 17 southern states. For more information, click here.

The local prevention programs of the National Children's Advocacy Center reach out to more than 17,000 people in Madison County each year.

Stop Child Abuse and Neglect (SCAN) is a school-based program designed to improve education and awareness on the issue. Staff members and trained volunteers teach children about personal safety, ranging from inappropriate touching to bullying. The program is a required part of the curriculum in the Huntsville, Madison and Madison County school systems for grades K, 1, 3, 5 and 7. SCAN programs are also presented to private schools and preschools upon request. For more information, click here.

This program is exceptionally important because education and awareness can mitigate abuse already in progress. Many of the abused children we see have been abused for two or three years before it came to be reported. Children often don't understand that what is happening to them is wrong, and not their fault.

Healthy Families North Alabama is a voluntary home visitation program that supports at-risk, first-time parents. Families can participate in the program from the birth of their baby until the child enters kindergarten.

Teenage mothers make up the largest part of this group. The clients receive education, emotional support and guidance to help them find security and stability in their lives. There are about 160 participants throughout the course of an average year.

"Beth" had just turned 14 when she had her baby. Through Healthy Families she found motivation and stability. Her NCAC Family Support Counselor worked with her to stay in school and focus on one step at a time. She graduated high school with honors, was assisted in applying for scholarships, attended college and earned a degree in four years. She is now 22 years old and a full-time employee of Huntsville Hospital. She and her eight year old child have full health insurance through work, a very comfortable lifestyle, and a bright future.

First Steps is a support program for families with newborns. Trained volunteers offer educational information to expectant parents through a presentation during childbirth classes. If the parent is interested in further assistance, a volunteer will then mentor the parent by calling them weekly to offer support, education and referrals to community resources.

Babies don't come with instructions. This program makes a world of difference for families with little support. One participant was so impressed and grateful for the service that she is now a volunteer helping others.

The Clinical Services Program of the Children's Advocacy Center is designed to help child abuse victims heal. There are more than 1,500 reports of child abuse each year in Madison County. Many of these are referred to the NCAC's highly trained mental health professionals who provide individual therapy and teen group therapy to deal with that problem.

Thousands of Madison County residents have received care through the Clinical Services Program. This professional outreach can change the direction of an entire lifetime. It is a program with a profound impact on the community through a web of relationships that touches us all.

The Family Advocate Program offers help to the families of abused children. This program strives to educate non-offending caregivers to protect and support the child victim. For more information, click here.

Caregivers of abused children face their own trauma. The trained staff of the NCAC Clinical team are skilled at offering a sense of perspective and hope for the people who have the most healing potential. Counseling sessions with these non-offending caregivers are typically scheduled at the same time as a child's therapy appointment. This system offers a productive and efficient avenue of support for the family.