Children's Advocacy Centers of Virginia

08/24/2026

Who is a hero for children in your community?

Nominations are now open for the 2026 CACVA Hero Awards, recognizing the individuals and multidisciplinary teams whose dedication helps protect children and support healing across Virginia.

🏆 Seven award categories
📅 Nominations due by September 9th
📍 Awards presented at the Justice in Action Conference in Virginia Beach, October 28th - 30th

CAC Staff, board members, and MDT members are invited to nominate the people and teams making a difference every day.

📷 Staunton Brand & Wedding Photographer | October Grace Media

08/19/2026

Back-to-school conversations aren’t just about backpacks and new routines.

Join The Mama Bear Effect and Bloom Safe for a FREE virtual Children’s Book Author Panel exploring how children’s literature can help families and professionals start age-appropriate conversations about body safety and prevention.

📅 Thursday, August 20th
⏰ 7:00 p.m.
💻 Zoom | FREE & open to all

Hear from authors Adrianne Simeone, Kimberly King, Steve Simons, Diane Tarantini, and Patrice Griffin, followed by an audience Q&A.

Perfect for parents, caregivers, educators, and anyone who works with children.

📚 Registration is required: tinyurl.com/BloomSafe
💻 Learn more about The Mama Bear Effect ➡️ themamabeareffect.org

08/17/2026

Today, on National Nonprofit Day, we’re celebrating the people across Virginia who show up every day with one shared purpose: keeping children safe.

To the nonprofits, advocates, law enforcement partners, mental health professionals, child welfare teams, medical providers, volunteers, and community organizations doing this incredibly important work, thank you. Protecting children takes all of us, and we’re grateful to stand alongside you.

And to the 19 Children’s Advocacy Centers across Virginia, an especially heartfelt thank you 💙

You create safe places for children to be heard. You support families through some of their most difficult days. You bring professionals together around one table. You advocate, educate, comfort, and keep showing up, even when the work is hard.

We see your dedication. We know the heart behind this work. And we are incredibly proud to support you.

Today, we celebrate all of you who work tirelessly to protect children and help them begin to heal.

📷 Staunton Brand & Wedding Photographer | October Grace Media

08/14/2026

Does your organization provide products, services, training, or technology that support child advocacy, child protection, child welfare, forensic interviewing, or victim services?

Join us as an exhibitor or vendor at the 17th Annual Justice in Action: Virginia’s Conference on Child Abuse & Exploitation, taking place October 28th – 30th in Virginia Beach, Virginia.

We’re seeking exhibitors whose work supports Children’s Advocacy Centers, law enforcement, child welfare professionals, prosecutors, forensic interviewers, forensic medical providers, mental health professionals, victim advocates, prevention programs, and organizations serving children and families.

This is your opportunity to showcase your organization, build valuable connections, and meet 400+ professionals from across Virginia who are committed to protecting children, supporting families, and strengthening communities.

🔗 Reserve your space: https://forms.gle/JDBW9vGttK62b4hZA

08/12/2026

Thank you for this great resource!

The forensic interview is one of the few moments your MDT is together in the same place at the same time. Are you making the most of it?

Watch our "Come Prepared and Leave In Sync" recorded webinar today to explore simple, practical strategies for structuring pre- and post-forensic interview discussions that strengthen collaboration, clarify roles, and keep your team aligned.

Because when teams come prepared—and leave in sync—children and families benefit. 💙

Access on our website: https://www.srcac.org/training/leave-in-sync/

08/07/2026

This week, CACVA had the privilege of taking members of the Commission on Youth to another site visit, this time at the Prince William County Child Advocacy Center.

This center is truly small but mighty, demonstrating how dedicated multidisciplinary teams, strong community partnerships, and unwavering commitment can create life-changing outcomes for children and families.

We were honored to welcome Senator Barbara Favola, Delegate Margaret Franklin, and Delegate Karrie Delaney’s Chief of Staff, Jackie Garry. We were especially grateful to Delegate Franklin, whose support, when she served on the Prince William County Board of Supervisors, helped make this CAC a reality. That investment continues to make a lasting difference for children and families in Prince William County.

These visits are about more than touring a building; they’re about connecting policymakers with the people, stories, and systems that protect children and support healing. When legislators see this work firsthand, they gain a clearer understanding of why Children’s Advocacy Centers are essential infrastructure for child protection in Virginia.

We’re grateful to the Prince William County CAC team for opening their doors and sharing their incredible work. Together, we’re strengthening relationships, building champions for children, and creating meaningful change with one conversation, one visit, and one legislator at a time.

07/31/2026

Become a Sponsor. Help Strengthen Virginia’s Response to Child Abuse.

Every child deserves a coordinated, compassionate response after abuse. By sponsoring Justice in Action: Virginia’s Conference on Child Abuse & Exploitation, you’re investing in the professionals who work every day to protect children, support families, and strengthen communities across the Commonwealth.

This multidisciplinary conference brings together Child Advocacy Center professionals, law enforcement, child protective services, forensic interviewers, medical providers, mental health clinicians, family advocates, prosecutors, and community partners for three days of learning, collaboration, and best practices.

Join us in supporting the training, collaboration, and innovation that equips professionals to better serve children and families.

For sponsorship information, email Charlé at [email protected].

07/25/2026

Every year, the National Children’s Alliance Leadership Conference brings together child advocacy professionals from across the country to learn, collaborate, and strengthen the work happening in our communities.

This summer, members of the Child Advocacy Centers of Virginia team joined colleagues in Washington, D.C. for several days of professional development, thoughtful conversations, and new ideas focused on improving outcomes for children and families.

Conferences like this are more than an opportunity to learn. They’re a chance to connect with others who understand the challenges of this work, share innovative approaches, and return home with fresh perspectives that strengthen all 19 of our Child Advocacy Centers across Virginia.

While this work is often difficult, we’re part of a passionate community committed to protecting children, supporting families, and continually improving the systems that serve them. We’re grateful for the opportunity to learn alongside colleagues from across Virginia and the nation.

07/06/2026

This week, we proudly recognize National Forensic Interviewers Week and celebrate the dedicated professionals serving children in our nineteen Child Advocacy Centers across Virginia.

A forensic interview helps ensure children have the opportunity to share their story in a safe, supportive environment while reducing the need for repeated interviews that can add to a child’s trauma. Conducted by specially trained forensic interviewers using developmentally appropriate, evidence-based practices, these conversations help children be heard in their own words while supporting the multidisciplinary response to child abuse.

Behind every forensic interview is a commitment to listening with care, reducing trauma, and strengthening multidisciplinary responses to child abuse.

To every forensic interviewer across the Commonwealth, thank you for your expertise, your compassion, and your unwavering commitment to children and families. Your work changes lives every single day.

📷 Staunton Brand & Wedding Photographer | October Grace Media

07/03/2026

Some of the most important conversations happen when survivors are given the space to share their stories.

During the National Children’s Alliance Leadership Conference, the CACVA leadership team attended a screening of Magic & Monsters, followed by a powerful survivor panel. The documentary examines how child sexual abuse was allowed to continue within a prestigious children’s theater program when reputation was prioritized over child safety.

Survivors courageously shared their experiences while emphasizing the importance of accountability, organizational transparency, and creating cultures where children are always protected. Their stories were a powerful reminder that preventing abuse requires more than policies. It requires listening, believing, and taking action.

We are grateful for opportunities like this that challenge us to continue strengthening Virginia’s network of Child Advocacy Centers and advancing our shared commitment to child safety, healing, and justice.