On Tuesday, Gov. Kay Ivey awarded $1.18 million in grants to agencies that provide services to child abuse victims, bringing the total amount awarded since Nov. 13 to nearly $7.1 million.
“The children of this state who have suffered from abuse deserve professional and compassionate assistance in a timely manner,” Ivey said Tuesday in a statement. “I commend these advocacy centers for helping victims and their families recover, assisting law enforcement with investigations and educating the public about child abuse prevention.”
Nearly 40 different agencies spanning across the state were awarded grants, with amounts ranging from $45,044 to the Blount County Children’s Advocacy Center, to $1.5 million for the Alabama CASA Network, a nonprofit organization based in Lee County.
While child abuse and neglect is often underreported, rates have been “steadily increasing throughout the years,” according to the Alabama Department of Public Health. In 2015, there were 8,466 documented child maltreatment victims, increasing to its most recent peak of 12,158 new victims in 2018.
The number of maltreated children decreased in 2021 – the most recent year of available data – though child abuse victims in Alabama are far more likely to be victims of physical abuse when compared to the rest of the country. According to Child Trends, a nonprofit research organization, 52% of all child abuse victims between 2017 and 2021 in Alabama suffered physical abuse, compared to just 16% nationally.
Such reports, according to ADPH, are most commonly made by adults concerned for children under 12, though nearly 17% of reports were made regarding children under one years old.
The grant funds will be administered by the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs, and were awarded to Alabama by the U.S. Department of Justice. Kenneth Boswell, director of ADECA, called the grant funding “essential,” and urged continued support for agencies servicing child abuse victims.
“It is essential to the well-being of child abuse victims and their families that these centers continue to serve their communities,” Boswell said Tuesday in a statement. “ADECA joins Gov. Ivey in supporting these agencies in their mission to assist victims in their time of greatest need.”
The five largest grant award recipients were:
- Alabama CASA Network Inc., a nonprofit organization based in Lee County, received $1.5 million to provide volunteer advocates for abused and neglected children throughout the state.
- National Children’s Advocacy Center received $513,967 to serve victims in DeKalb, Jackson, Madison, Marshall and Morgan counties.
- Cramer Children’s Center received $404,433 in grant funds to provide a variety of services in Colbert, Franklin, Lauderdale and Lawrence Counties, including “court school,” which helps victims become acclimated to a courtroom setting.
- Family Counseling Center of Mobile Inc. will use its $298,805 grant to fund its services to victims, including counseling, assistance with needs, referrals to additional community organizations and education in Mobile County.
- Shelby County Children’s Advocacy Center Inc. will use its $241,761 grant to meet a growing need for services in the county.