#BeHeard4Kids
The Impact of Child Abuse Last a Lifetime
Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), like child abuse, have a lifelong impact on survivors. These traumatic experiences are often linked to chronic health problems, mental illness, and substance abuse in children and adults. The best practice and evidence-based response to child abuse that Children’s Advocacy Centers provide can help to reduce the impact of child abuse by providing victim-centered services and family-centered treatments designed to provide healing, justice, and trust for children and families who have been impacted by child abuse. Your help today can help the tomorrow for the over 13,000 children and families that South Carolina Children’s Advocacy Centers provide services for each year.
How You Can Help Us to BeHeard4Kids
The South Carolina Network of Children’s Advocacy Centers (SCNCAC) helps provide hope, healing and justice for abused children throughout South Carolina through our 28 member Children’s Advocacy Centers (CACs). CAC’s are child-friendly facilities where law enforcement, child protective services, mental health, medical, and other professionals work together to investigate abuse, help children heal, and hold offenders accountable. You can help us to #BeHeard4Kids by making a donation to the South Carolina Network of Children’s Advocacy Centers or by giving directly to the CAC in your community. You can use the help button to the right to learn how you can donate to SCNCAC or your local children’s advocacy center.
You can also help us to #BeHeard4Kids by taking part in our Calls to Action to strengthen the statewide response to child abuse in South Carolina. A recent call to action involved reaching out to South Carolina policymakers to support the South Carolina Child Abuse Response Protocol Act which established a Child Abuse Response Protocol in South Carolina to formalize the use of Children’s Advocacy Centers and Multidisciplinary Teams in the statewide response to child abuse. The Protocol Act was signed into law by the Governor in 2021 thanks to many of you who helped by responding to our call to action. We will list future calls to action below with ways that you can help.
Call to Action – February 26, 2025
Investing in the Statewide Response to Child Abuse
In April of each year, we recognize Child Abuse Prevention Month in South Carolina and across the country. Each year the Governor has declared a day in April as Children’s Advocacy Center Day in South Carolina to recognize the valuable contributions that Children’s Advocacy Centers make to protect children and enhance the statewide response to child abuse. For the past 13 years the Attorney Generals office has hosted a Children’s Advocacy Center (CAC) Day press conference with the South Carolina Network of Children’s Advocacy Centers (SCNCAC) on CAC Day. The 14th Annual CAC Day in South Carolina will be April 15th, 2025.
National statistics show that One in Ten children will be sexually abused before their 18th birthday. That is 10% of the children in South Carolina. In 2023 alone, CACs in South Carolina provided services for 13,413 children suffering from child abuse.
How You Can Help
By becoming a BeHeard4Kids sponsor and making an investment in the work SCNCAC is doing, you can help to empower South Carolina communities and CACs to continue to deliver a best practice response to child abuse. You can make an individual donation to support our BeHeard4Kids Campaign by using the donate now button below. Or you can view our BeHeard4Kids Campaign Sponsorship Guide to learn how you and your organization can sponsor certain activities during our Child Abuse Prevention month work. After reviewing the Sponsorship Guide, if you want to be a training or outreach sponsor, just use the donate now button below to donate the appropriate amount from the sponsorship guide and put the appropriate sponsorship type (training or outreach) in the comments section of the donate form. Since there is only one sponsorship opportunity for the CAC day, please reach out to us using the contact us button at the top of this page to request information on the CAC Day sponsor opportunity. We look forward to a successful CAC Day and Child Abuse Prevention Month. We are thankful for your support!