Governor Kay Ivey on Wednesday awarded nine grants totaling $2.26 million to nonprofit centers that provide professional care to children who have suffered abuse.
“Children who have been abused need a place where they feel safe to share what happened to them and receive needed assistance,” Ivey said. “I am pleased to award these funds to groups that are proven champions for children and play a vital role in bringing offenders to justice.”
The Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs is administering the grants with money from the U.S. Department of Justice.
“These organizations provide everything from prevention to counseling to help with prosecution,” ADECA Director Kenneth Boswell said. “ADECA stands with Ivey in support of the professionals who help children heal from these terrible crimes.”
Grant recipients:
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Regional Child Advocacy Center — $67,020 for programs in Choctaw, Clarke and Washington counties that offer emotional support, assistance with prosecution and community education about child abuse.
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Twin Cedars Youth and Family Services Inc. — two grants totaling $175,224 for prevention services, personal advocacy and residential programs for victims of crimes including child physical and sexual abuse and human trafficking in Lee and Macon counties.
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Alabama Court Appointed Special Advocates Network — $1,291,991 for a statewide program based in Opelika that provides support, technical assistance and guidance for local programs in 23 counties that provide trained volunteers to advocate for child abuse victims.
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Butterfly Bridge Children’s Advocacy Center — $198,945 for therapy, medical services, forensic interviews and expert testimony for victims of child abuse, domestic violence and related crimes in Autauga, Chilton and Elmore counties.
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Tri-County Children’s Advocacy Center — $109,352 to help investigate child abuse cases, provide services to victims and conduct prevention education programs at schools in Chambers, Clay, Coosa, Randolph and Tallapoosa counties.
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Family Counseling Center of Mobile Inc. — $255,479 for a child advocacy program that works with children who are victims of abuse and non-offending parents, offering counseling, group therapy and assistance with the court process in Mobile County.
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Pike Regional Child Advocacy Center — $80,424 for a Troy-based program serving Barbour, Bullock, Coffee and Pike counties that provides care for victims of child abuse, human trafficking and kidnapping.
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Central Alabama Regional Child Advocacy Center — $77,603 to provide services including conducting forensic interviews for child abuse cases in Bibb, Dallas, Hale, Perry and Wilcox counties.
ADECA manages programs that support law enforcement, economic development, recreation, energy conservation and water resource management.
