NEW JERSEY CHILDRENS ALLIANCE

It is essential for the preservation of services for victims of child abuse and other crimes that Congress pass the Crime Victims Fund Stabilization Act, H.R. 909. You can help by contacting your Congressional rep and asking them to co-sponsor the bill. To date, in NJ, only 4 representatives have signed on: Rep. Van Drew, Rep. Norcross, Rep. McIver, and Rep. Smith. For information, links, and a script for contacting your reps, check out https://lnkd.in/eqJYHJG.

Please join us for the second annual Shine for Children Walk in Trenton! We will walk from the DCF Building at 50 East State Street to the NJ State House steps (just under a mile), where we will hear speakers including Dr. Brett Biller from Audrey Hepburn Children's House, DCF First Deputy Commissioner Katie Stoehr, leaders in the CAC and child advocacy movement, and child abuse survivors. This walk, along with funds raise, will help promote services for child abuse victims and their families, and show support for survivors. Please sign up on our website to walk, make a donation, and share with anyone else who might be interested in walking, donating, or sponsoring!

NJCA is pleased to announce that our Know & Tell child abuse prevention and response training program is expanding and will be offered throughout communities in Essex County, thanks to the multidisciplinary team at Wynona's House Child Advocacy Center! Director of Communications and Outreach Olga Aramini, MSW, MBA, LSW and Training and Outreach Coordinator Joey Lucas trained 30 members of the multidisciplinary team - including Assistant Prosecutors, law enforcement officers, DCP&P caseworkers, Family Advocacy Program staff members, and CAC administrators - on delivering the program to their communities. We are thrilled that this education program will now be offered to so many groups in Essex County, and we thank the team members at Wynona's House for their ongoing dedication to helping keep children safe and providing victims with every opportunity to heal and thrive!

We would like to thank the Women's Clubs of West Milford and Bridgewater for their generous donations of transportation gift cards! These gift cards will assist families in Bergen and Somerset counties in accessing services at Child Advocacy Centers as well as mental health treatment and medical exams. Lack of access to transportation is one of the biggest barriers for families in NJ to obtaining services after a child has been a victim of abuse. Many families do not own a reliable vehicle, and public transportation infrastructure in most areas across the state is not sufficient for families to get their children where they need to be. When families are forced to choose between paying for food or paying for transportation to access services for their child, it is a lose-lose situation; families suffer additional hardship on top of the trauma of abuse, children end up missing out on much-needed services, and justice is less likely to be served. That is why donations of transportation gift cards are among the most requested items by Child Advocacy Centers. On behalf of the Child Advocacy Centers and all the families of child abuse victims they serve, we once again thank the New Jersey State Federation of Women's Clubs of GFWC and their member clubs for their ongoing generosity in making us their Special State Project for 2024-2026.

On January 24th, NJCA will host a training called Effective Patrol Response & The Dynamics of Child Abuse. We are excited to bring this training to our audience to help emphasize the role of law enforcement in child abuse investigation and provide more insight into the importance of their response in these cases. As some of the first on the scene, they play a crucial role in ensuring the well-being of the child and family, as well as the outcome of the case. Child abuse investigations are some of the most challenging and sensitive cases law enforcement professionals handle. Effective responses in these cases can significantly impact the safety and well-being of children involved. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, there are several critical considerations that officers should keep in mind when responding to child abuse cases. First, it’s essential for officers to recognize and manage any personal or professional biases they may have regarding child abuse cases. Maintaining objectivity and desensitizing oneself to emotionally difficult issues helps ensure that all interactions remain professional and focused on the child’s safety. Officers also need to familiarize themselves with department guidelines and state statutes, as well as community resources available to support the child and family, such as therapy and victim compensation services. When responding to a scene, it is crucial to treat the environment as a potential crime scene, even if the abuse occurred in the past. An effective response by officers involves securing and documenting all evidence, including any instruments of abuse identified by the child, and taking photographs to capture injuries or changes over time. Furthermore, officers need to be vigilant in their investigation, collecting details such as the history of the abusive situation and understanding the timeline of events. Children’s statements must never be dismissed, and all possible avenues for investigation need to be explored, including domestic disputes that might involve child abuse. Ensuring that families are linked to support services throughout the process and updating them on the case status can provide essential emotional and logistical support for everyone involved. By following these guidelines, law enforcement officers can enhance their effectiveness in child abuse investigations, ensuring that vulnerable children are protected and supported every step of the way. Law enforcement officers who want to learn more can sign up for this training at https://lnkd.in/e922aimr.

Thank you to the dedicated volunteers of Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) of Middlesex County County for coming out on a cold night to learn about preventing, recognizing, and reporting child abuse through our KNOW & TELL training! One participant provided this feedback: "Know and Tell training is the best of its kind I've attended during my work with youth since 1997." This interactive, 2.5 hour training is free to participants, and covers a variety of important subject areas including signs and symptoms of child abuse and neglect, steps adults can take to keep children safe, online dangers and safety precautions, what to do if a child discloses to you that they are being abused, how to make a report to the child abuse hotline, and what happens after a report is made. It is appropriate for all adults who work or interact with children, and particularly appropriate for youth-serving organizations. To schedule a training for your group or organization, email [email protected].

Child trafficking hides in plain sight. Some youth may be at increased risk due to individual, relationship, community, and societal factors. To learn more about how #trafficking reaches children most vulnerable and affects those who have experienced trafficking, view: https://bit.ly/3BP4DsN #HumanTraffickingAwarenessMonth

In reflecting upon 2024, we came up with this yearbook-style visual of our "superlatives"! It waa indeed a big year, and we are grateful to everyone who helped make these things happen!

URGENT: Legislative action alert! Cuts to VOCA (Victims of Crime Act) funds are putting child abuse victims at risk for losing access to critical services. Currently, the U.S. House of Representatives (H.R. 8061) and the U.S. Senate ( S.4514) have Crime Victims Fund Stabilization bills before them, which would temporarily provide additional deposits into the Crime Victims Fund and avoid additional catastrophic cuts to VOCA funds available to victim services. The link below contains a script for calling your Senator and Congressional Representative to ask them to co-sponsor the bill. Currently, the only NJ member of Congress on the co-sponsor list is Rep. Frank Pallone (thank you Congressman Frank Pallone Jr.!) and all of our representatives and both Senators should sign on! There is also a brief on the legislation that you can email to your Congressional Representative. The 5 minutes you spend making this call and asking your colleagues, family and supporters to do the same can pay off in services to kids in months to come. Please also share this post and information with your networks - child abuse victims are counting on our help!

We are excited to announce the launch of our newly redesigned website! The new site, designed with extensive input from a variety of stakeholders, makes it easier to find what each audience is looking for, and allows us to showcase our many programs and services in a way that is most useful to our members and partners. Please take a few minutes to browse our new site, check out our training calendar, read about Child Advocacy Center and impact stories, learn about the issues of child abuse prevention and response and download resources, sign up for our email newsletter, and contact us for any questions or collaborations on our programs! https://njcainc.org