What accreditation means

As the accrediting body for Children’s Advocacy Centers (CACs), National Children’s Alliance (NCA) ensures that all children across the U.S. served by CACs receive consistent, evidence-based services that help them heal from abuse. Achieving status as an Accredited CAC with us is challenging, but important for communities to show their kids they care and actually deliver evidence-based services kids and families need.

While Associate Members are working toward accreditation, and our Affiliate Members serve children in their communities with the resources available, the vast majority of NCA members have undertaken the rigorous process to meet the 10 National Standards of Accreditation and become Accredited CACs. Additionally, Satellite CACs can be created under the umbrella of an Accredited CAC to serve rural, frontier, or other underserved populations. Learn more about our National Standards of Accreditation and our process, and find resources to help CACs meet them below.

Decorative accreditation graphic featuring illustrations of certificates, books, clocks, and other symbols of achievement

Why get accredited?

Not sure whether your CAC should apply for accreditation? We can give you five good reasons why you should.

What are the Standards?

Our 10 National Standards for Accreditation help CACs improve practice and serve kids better. The Standards represent the work of more than 130 child abuse intervention professionals and experts following the latest evidence. They're updated based on the latest science, and our Accredited Members demonstrate they're meeting them every five years.

What's the process?

The accreditation process is designed to be supportive, consistent, and objective. Learn more about the process here.

Start here

If you're ready to get accredited with NCA, here's where to start.

Accreditation resources for members

Our best resource to get you ready for accreditation or re-accreditation under the 2023 Standards is our Accreditation Bootcamp 2.0, produced with help from experts in all 10 disciplines for our mandatory standards, and all three of our optional standards areas. Start camp now with this free, self-paced video training series.

Looking for Help?

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