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.

After 12 years in the former Congregational House at 14 Beacon Street, MACA has moved across the street to 11 Beacon. We appreciate all the wonderful connections and friendships we were able to make at 14 Beacon and look forward to our next chapter in our new office space.

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.