Community Partner Spotlight: Friends of Children’s Cove
December 17th, 2025
As the only Child Advocacy Center (CAC) which covers the Cape & Islands, Children’s Cove’s work can be described in one word: critical. In 1997, members of the Barnstable County Task Force on Children—a collaboration including Cape Cod Healthcare, the Department of Children and Families, the Cape and Islands District Attorney’s Office, and Barnstable County Government—identified a crucial need for specialized services for children who were victims of child abuse. With no local agencies equipped to provide the specialized supports children needed, they created Barnstable County’s first Child Advocacy Center. Today, Children’s Cove works in partnership to provide a comprehensive, multidisciplinary response to child sexual abuse cases across the Cape and Islands.
While we’re supported by County, State and Federal funds there are limitations and legislative requirements to our budget which restrict our ability to provide critical needs for children and families. It is with the support of dedicated community members, community foundations, and the Friends of Children’s Cove (FoCC) that we can provide support to children at the most urgent of times.
The Friends of Children’s Cove, Inc. is a volunteer and community-led 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization established to support Children’s Cove’s mission and essential services. The FoCC provides support for a timely response to children and families served at Children’s Cove for safety, transportation, basic needs, healing activities, and programs that fall outside of county, state, and federal funding. FoCC provides leadership guidance, promotes community advocacy, and facilitates philanthropic efforts for Children’s Cove.
Funding from the Friends of Children’s Cove directly supports child victims, siblings, and caregivers through three key avenues:
1. Immediate Response Funding: This is the most common form of support and assists children and families by providing financial stipends for basic life essentials, such as food, clothing, transportation, and housing, when there is an immediate need. For example, if it is no longer safe for a child and non-offending parent to return home, they may need a safe place to stay for a day or two.
2. Pathways to Healing: This funding provides children and families with access to activities and services to foster emotional healing as well as opportunities to connect within their community and regain normalcy following trauma. This can include supportive childcare or other resources like summer camp, after-school activities, and more.
3. Community Free of Abuse: These funds expand and support community education services for the prevention of child abuse, raising healthy children, and strategies to navigate challenging situations.
The Friends of Children’s Cove also supports our innovative programs, like the Teen TASK Force, as well as initiatives we have in partnership with A Safe Place on Nantucket and Connect to End Violence on Martha’s Vineyard.
The Friends of Children’s Cove, its volunteers, and Trustees have made an indelible mark on the lives of children in our community, and we cannot express enough gratitude for those who have contributed to their cause.
Get Involved
- If you would like to learn more, please visit the FoCC website: friendsofchildrenscove.org
- If you would like to volunteer with FoCC, please fill out this informational form here.
