Massachusetts Children's Alliance, Inc.

MACA administers state and federal funds to the state's 12 CACs to support salaries, equipment and service provision. With these limited dollars, MACA ensures that CACs fund the core services to child victims including sound victim focused multidisciplinary investigative response and coordination of necessary mental health and medical services. Through a grant application process, MACA not only administers funding, but has the ability to design an individual technical assistance plan. For centers holding associate membership status with the National Children's Alliance (NCA), MACA works to ensure accreditation within a 5 year period. For those CACs accredited by the NCA, MACA encourages service delivery expansion. MACA also offers a statewide day long conference for child abuse professionals affording access to cutting edge information and networking.

MACA’s Access to Mental Health for Child Victims initiative, led by an Advisory Board of experts and providers, addresses barriers to trauma-informed, evidence-based mental health services for child victims of abuse. Wait times for specialized mental health care can be more than 6 months. To bridge this gap, in 2015 MACA trained over 50 clinicians in Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT) with clinicians continuing to provide care using this modality today.

In 2020, MACA launched its pilot program leading statewide awareness and interventions for children showing PSBs. We also started a clinical learning collaborative and trained 38 clinicians in problematic sexual behavior cognitive behavioral therapy (PSB-CBT) at six CACs and their mental health partnering organizations. In 2022, we educated more than 2,500 mental health professionals, counselors, psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, and community members on PSB and the services available.

The Massachusetts Children’s Alliance was awarded a two-year grant Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) grant through the Massachusetts Office for Victim Assistance (MOVA) for FY’2019-FY’2020, to continue and build upon the innovative service response of our CACs for high risk as well as youth who are being trafficked. This new “Statewide CSEC Service Enhancement Project” offers sustainability and service enhancement for children impacted by commercial sexual exploitation (CSEC) by ensuring that a coordinated, trauma informed response is available statewide from Pittsfield to Provincetown. The project will support a dedicated CSEC Case Manager position at each Children's Advocacy Center to coordinate the multidisciplinary team response to at-risk and sexually exploited children.

Created in partnership with the 12 Children's Advocacy Centers, MACA’s curriculum helps educate community members and professionals who engage with children about recognizing and responding to child abuse because adults play a critical role in protecting children. In 2018, over 2500 individuals were trained through MACA's curriculum by their local Children's Advocacy Center.