News Archive

It’s that time of year again- join us for four days of learning, professional development, and networking for professionals working with child victims of abuse and exploitation, including those in child advocacy, law enforcement, child forensic interviewing, social work, prosecution, child protective services, victim advocacy, medical providers, mental health, probation, and more!

Due to COVID-19 safety regulations, this year’s conference will be held virtually on May 11th, 13th, 18th, and 20th, from 1:00-4:30PM.

We are so excited to welcome this year’s incredible speakers, including Joyce James, LMSW-AP as our keynote speaker. Ms. James is the founder and CEO of Joyce James Consulting, LLC, where she is the lead racial equity consultant. The conference will also feature a plenary speaker, Dr. Graham Hill, who is a subject matter expert in relation to the behavior of adults who sexually abuse children.

Click here to visit our conference website for registration & more information on workshops and sponsorships!

The Massachusetts Children’s Alliance is seeking a full time Administrative Coordinator to support the oversight of day to day operations. Under the supervision of the Executive Director, the Administrative Coordinator will provide overall office administrative support, work with the Director of Grants Management to ensure that the agency is in compliance with all requirements set by both public and private funders, assist with fundraising initiatives, and other duties as assigned. View Idealist for more information on the position requirements and responsibilities, as well as information on how to apply.

MACA is seeking a new CSEC Statewide Coordinator to join our team this fall! Under the supervision of the Executive Director, the CSEC Statewide Coordinator will promote and support the multidisciplinary team (MDT) response to commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC) based at the 12 Children’s Advocacy Centers (CACs) across the state. The position will coordinate efforts and activities to ensure that the CAC-based MDT response remains central to intervention and service provision.

For more information and how to apply, please check out our posting here!

Join us on May 26, 2020 at 7PM EST for a live conversation with Sasha to discuss his critically acclaimed documentary, REWIND, his family’s journey in healing from multigenerational child sexual abuse, and the incredible public response to his story.

Register Here: https://bit.ly/MACAREWIND
Watch REWIND for free on PBS: https://www.pbs.org/independentlens/films/rewind/

UPDATE: In light of the concerns regarding the novel coronavirus, COVID-19, in Massachusetts, MACA’s 10th Annual Statewide Conference will be a virtual event on September 2nd, 3rd and 10th.

Join us for a full day of learning, professional development, and networking for professionals working with child victims of abuse and exploitation, including those in child advocacy, law enforcement, child forensic interviewing, social work, prosecution, child protective services, victim advocacy, medical providers, mental health, probation, and more!

Register for the conference, learn more about workshops and our sponsors on our conference website here!

This GivingTuesday, support MACA to make Massachusetts a safer place for children. Donate at https://donatenow.networkforgood.org/maca

MACA is accepting applications for an Education and Training Coordinator! Please see our posting on Idealist for more information and how to apply!

Check out MACA’s Back to School Newsletter featuring resources on how to talk about body safety with children, how trauma impacts learning in the classroom and more.

Check out our Summer 2019 Newsletter to find out what the MACA team has been up to this Spring. Sending your children to summer camp? We have tips and questions to ask your camp to make sure your children are safe this summer!

On May 7, 2019, MACA held its 9th Annual Statewide Conference- Healing, Hope and Justice: An Advanced Conversation featuring keynote speaker, Sasha Joseph Neulinger, Founder & President of Voice for the Kids, and plenary speaker Jenn Abelson, investigative reporter and author.  Check out more pictures from the conference on our Facebook Page

Thank you to Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, Comcast, Insource Services Inc, National Association of Social Workers MA, Eastern Bank, Tufts Health Plan, ML Strategies, MassGeneral Hospital for Children, the MAMA Bear Effect, Saint Anne’s Hospital, CaseCracker, Market Basket and DGI Communications for your generous sponsorships.

Two amendments were recently made to the House budget that will help us reach children who need specialized mental health services. To learn more about these two amendments, a list of representatives who have already signed on and talking points, visit our Legislative Action page! 

AMENDMENT #1292 – filed by Rep. Paul Mark : This amendment ensures CACs will have funds to improve their satellite spaces so all children will have the same experience no matter where they live. Additionally, it would mean that MACA can host specialized mental health trainings in Child and Family Traumatic Stress Intervention- an evidence-based mental health intervention for child victims of abuse

AMENDMENT #775 – filed by Rep. Kay Khan : This amendment provides proper funding for the legislatively created Child Sexual Abuse Prevention Task Force for which MACA is a member. Additional funds are ensured for evidence-based, specialized mental health interventions for children who may display problematic sexualized behaviors as well as funding for web-based prevention trainings

Registration for MACA’s 9th Annual Conference: Healing, Hope and Justice: An Advanced Conversation is OPEN! Early Bird rates until March 31st. Please check out our conference website to learn more and to register.

After an eventful spring at MACA, we have much to share! We hired our new Training and Education coordinator, hosted our 8th Annual Statewide Conference, and attended and presented at the National Children’s Alliance Leadership Conference.

Welcome to MACA’s new Training and Education Coordinator, Madeline Bacon- We are excited to welcome Madeline Bacon, LCSW, as our new Training and Education Coordinator! Focusing on the roll-out of our Recognizing and Responding to Child Abuse: Working Together to End Abuse training, Madeline will be working with our CACs to bring our evidence supported information to communities across the state. Prior to joining MACA in April 2018, Madeline worked as an Intensive Foster Care Social Worker at Cambridge Family and Children’s Service, providing clinical case management services to children in the Department of Children and Family’s (DCF) custody. Her interest in, and passion for, the work done by CACs deepened while serving as a Family Advocate at Boulder County, Colorado’s CAC, Blue Sky Bridge. We are grateful for funding from both Help for Children and the Northeast Regional Children’s Advocacy Center to support her work.

8th Annual Conference- MACA hosted our 8th Annual Conference, Healing, Hope and Justice: An Advanced Conversation. Over 300 professionals across the state gathered on May 1st to hear keynote speakers Mary Mazzio and Jessica Soto. The keynote discussed the complex case of human trafficking victims, Jane Does, and their trials against the huge web-landing company, Backpage.com in Mary Mazzio’s film I AM JANE DOE. A heartfelt thank you to our conference sponsors and supporters, speakers, planning committee and all those in attendance, for making the day a success!

NCA Leadership Conference – Tom King, Executive Director, offered a workshop on our curriculum, Recognizing and Responding to Child Abuse: Working Together to End Abuse. Tom, Nicole Richardi, Executive Director of the Plymouth CAC, and Michele Mullen, Training Specialist for the Northeast Regional CAC, presented as a team at the NCA’s annual Leadership Conference in Washington D.C.

To view our full Summer Newsletter, click here

Mandated Reporter Policies

 Click here to learn more about Mandated reporters and when and how to file a report. Find additional information on mandated reporting here. As a mandated reporter in Massachusetts, you can now complete the written portion of your 51A report here.

How Would Your Child’s School Respond?

As an educator, school staff member, and/or parent in Massachusetts, are you familiar with your school’s child abuse and neglect reporting process? Or the policies and practices employed to keep children safe from abuse while in school and out in the community? If not, contact your local school district to find out more! You can also check out the Massachusetts mandated reporting statute here.

The MA Legislative Task Force to Prevent Child Sexual Abuse developed a handbook of guidelines and tools for youth serving organizations (including schools) to use when implementing sexual abuse prevention and intervention plans. Find the handbook here.

Trauma & School Performance

For many kids, a new school year brings with it excitement and possibility. For those who have experienced abuse or neglect, it can be hard to navigate academically, socially, and emotionally. It’s important for parents and educators to be aware of the effects of abuse and how they manifest in school. Click here to view a fact sheet on the relationship of child maltreatment and academic achievement. 

To view our full summer newsletter, click here

On October 23-24, the Northeast Regional Children’s Advocacy Center hosted their Regional Chapter Summit in Boston. We were able to connect and share best practices with our colleagues from Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. To welcome our colleagues to Massachusetts, we created “Welcome to Massachusetts” goodie bags with generous donations from Massachusetts based companies and eateries. We always look forward to connecting and networking with our colleagues from across the Northeast.

We would like to thank the Beacon Hill Business Association, Taza Chocolates, JP Licks, Yankee Candle, Preserve Products, MEM Tea and Golden Girl Granola for providing donations for our goodie bags. We would also like to thank Flour, Red Apple Farm, Tatte, Union Square Donuts and Boloco for providing delicious snacks for the summit.