The Victims of Child Abuse Act (VOCA) provides for the submission of an annual report to both the Senate and House Committees on the Judiciary. See 34 U.S.C. § 20307(b). The following report provides information about the VOCA Programs administered by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP).
OJJDP administers funds to support children's advocacy centers (CACs) as authorized by VOCA. These funds support programs as well as training and technical assistance (TTA) that provide all children and families access to strong multidisciplinary teams (MDTs) of highly qualified professionals who respond to and help heal victims of child abuse. The overarching goal of these VOCA-funded programs is to improve the community response to child abuse through strategic leadership, collaboration, and capacity building. The VOCA-funded grantee organizations provide specialized TTA, elevate the expertise of child abuse professionals, and develop and improve the functioning of MDTs, CACs, and state CAC chapters to strengthen the system's response to child abuse and neglect as well as provide direct funding to local CACs through subgrant funding. Currently, OJJDP's VOCA program portfolio comprises five interconnected initiatives. These initiatives provide focused support at the local, regional, and national levels to maximize the impact of services for child victims of abuse and ensure access to services and TTA for communities and involved professionals.