State Budget Legislation Brings Stable Funding to Massachusetts Child Advocacy Centers
September 22, 2022
Children’s Cove is one of twelve Child Advocacy Centers that exist through the Commonwealth. It is also a department of Barnstable County, which provides compassionate, efficient, critical child abuse intervention services in a child-friendly facility.
Having access to stable funding is tremendously important to the work we do. In this past legislative session, which ended a few weeks ago, language passed in the state budget which directed the consolidation of child advocacy center funding streams into one source that would be jointly administered by Massachusetts Children’s Alliance (MACA), in partnership with the MA Department of Public Health (DPH).
This is a permanent change that will stabilize funding for all 12 Child Advocacy Centers throughout the Commonwealth from this year going forward. This is an amazing accomplishment and one that has taken years of hard work and advocacy to achieve. The Cape Cod and Islands Legislative Delegation worked closely with Children’s Cove and MACA every step of the way to make this goal a reality. Because of this change, Children’s Cove will receive a $200,000 grant annually from the State of Massachusetts.
Children’s Cove is grateful to the Cape and Islands Delegation for their dedicated support.”
Because of their support, Children’s Cove will be able to provide hope and healing to child victims of abuse and their families throughout Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard, and Nantucket. This funding allows Children’s Cove to reinforce and expand our evidence-based programs, network of community partnerships, educational outreach, and awareness efforts. We will be able to continue empowering survivors, promoting healthy outcomes, and helping to mitigate the stigma of child abuse.
Our legislators support of Children’s Cove goes far beyond securing stable funding, it directly contributes to the work we do to try and heal some of our most vulnerable and important community members.
We would like to offer our heartfelt thanks to the Cape Cod and Islands Legislative Delegation for their tireless work to make this stable grant funding available, and for helping us attain our vision “to create a community where children are free of abuse, have a voice that is heard, and where they enjoy healthy, safe, and empowered lives” on the Cape and Islands.
