Overview
Child abuse can have lifelong consequences that last well into adulthood. However, the psychological toll on victims and families can be mitigated with evidence-based, trauma-informed care from experienced multidisciplinary teams. OJJDP funds projects, programs and training that are critical to the intervention and investigation of child abuse and neglect cases.
In fiscal year 2020, there were an estimated 1,750 deaths from child abuse or neglect and approximately 618,000 victims nationwide, according to the Child Maltreatment 2020 report from the Children's Bureau at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families.
Programs and Funding
Victims of Child Abuse Act Program
OJJDP's Victims of Child Abuse (VOCA) Act program works to improve the lives of those affected by maximizing the impact of victim services and ensuring professionals have access to effective and innovative training.
In fiscal year 2021, the Office awarded $43.1 million in projects and training for the VOCA program. OJJDP supports these initiatives under the program. While the funding cycle varies and some programs are multi-year efforts, OJJDP supports these initiatives under the VOCA program:
- Children's Advocacy Centers (CACs):
- Fiscal Year 2021–$28.8 million
- Court Appointed Special Advocates/Guardian ad Litem (CASA/GAL):
- Fiscal Year 2021–$11.17 million
- Child Abuse Training for Judicial and Court Personnel:
- Fiscal Year 2021–$3.1 million
In fiscal year 2021, trained volunteers from approximately 950 CASA programs and served 242,000 abused and neglected children in 49 states and the District of Columbia.
Children's Advocacy Centers
In FY 2021, OJJDP awarded $21 million to the Children's Advocacy Centers National Subgrants Program to support local CACs and State Chapters. CACs coordinate the investigation, prosecution and treatment of child abuse cases using multidisciplinary, trauma-informed teams of professionals from child protective and victim advocacy services, law enforcement and prosecution, and the medical and mental health fields.
There are four regional centers Midwest Regional Children's Advocacy Center, Northeast Regional Children's Advocacy Center, Southern Regional Children's Advocacy Center and the Western Regional Children's Advocacy Center. These four centers provide training and technical assistance to CACs and state chapters in each of the region that are tailored to the needs of their region.
OJJDP's CAC partners provide service and support through grants and training and technical assistance to Centers nationwide.
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OJJDP's CAC Partners under VOCAA
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National Children's Alliance
The National Children's Alliance oversees accreditation, advocacy, membership, national leadership and quality assurance to the network of 939 CACs. The Alliance also provides training, technical assistance, and networking opportunities to communities that are planning, establishing, or improving local centers.
Alaska and Tribal Children's Advocacy Centers Expansion
OJJDP is working to expand the coverage and capacity of CACs in Alaska and Indian country as part of the American Indian and Alaska Native Children's Advocacy Centers Expansion program to improve the investigation of child abuse cases and treatment for children and their families in Tribal and Alaska native communities. In FY 2020, OJJDP awarded $14.2 million to support the expansion effort through the following initiatives:
- $4.8 million to support enhancements to increase the quality of service and address infrastructure needs of existing centers under the Alaska Children's Advocacy Center Expansion Initiative for Child Abuse Victims
- $1 million to support Tribal CACs under the Training and Technical Assistance To Expand Children's Advocacy Centers Serving American Indians/Alaska Native Communities program and awarded an additional $500,000 for targeted training and technical assistance to Alaska-based CACs
- $750,000 for the Tribal Children's Advocacy Center Expansion Initiative for Child Abuse Victims program to improve service delivery to those Tribal communities outside Alaska
- The National Children's Alliance also received approximately $7.2 million to provide subgrants to expand and enhance multi-disciplinary team and CACs services to Tribal and Alaska native communities.
Child Protection: Dependency Courts
Between fiscal years 2019 and 2021, OJJDP awarded $41.7 million to improve the judicial system's handling of child maltreatment cases.
Fiscal Year 2021—$14.3 million
Fiscal Year 2020—$14.0 million
Fiscal Year 2019—$13.4 million
Court Appointed Special Advocates
Court appointed special advocates are volunteers trained to serve as fact finders, monitors, and facilitators for children who have been abused, neglected or are at risk of victimization.
In FY 2021, OJJDP awarded $11 million to the National CASA Association to expand the national membership and accreditation program for state and local CASA Programs and make available training and technical assistance to support new and existing state and local CASA programs across the nation under the CASA Membership and Accreditation Program and Training and Technical Assistance project.
Child Abuse Training for Judicial and Court Personnel
In FY 2021, OJJDP awarded just over $3 million to the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges to provide training and technical assistance to judicial, legal and social service professionals to improve their understanding of and response to cases of child abuse and neglect.
The Child Abuse Training for Judicial and Court Personnel project trains judicial, legal and social service professionals to improve their response in child abuse and neglect cases. It also teaches practitioners how to coordinate information and services across the juvenile justice and child welfare systems.
OJJDP continues their efforts to support intervention and investigation of child abuse cases. Through evidence-based training by their network of training and technical assistance providers and funding for programs to assist multidisciplinary teams, the Office strives for positive outcomes for victims and their families.
Resources
OJJDP Resources:
- Model Programs Guide Literature Review: Intersection of Juvenile Justice and Child Welfare Systems
- Program page: Children's Advocacy Centers
- In Focus Fact Sheet: Child Protection: Dependency Courts Updated 5/2/22
- In Focus Fact Sheet: Children's Advocacy Centers Updated 4/5/22
- In Focus Fact Sheet: Support for Prosecutors Who Work With Youth
- Statistical Briefing Book: Juveniles as Victims
Additional Resources: