Awards for Coordination of Children's Advocacy Center Services for Military Families

National Children's Alliance is a nonprofit membership organization and accrediting body for Children's Advocacy Centers, which coordinate law enforcement, child protection, prosecution, mental health, medical, and victim advocacy professionals in responding to child abuse. NCA was first federally funded in 1993 to develop and expand Children's Advocacy Centers through a national subgrants program and has since administered more than $230 million in federal funds. Under a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, NCA is administering federal funding for coordination of Children's Advocacy Center services for military families. Funding is provided under the OJJDP Children's Advocacy Centers National Subgrant Program, CFDA 16.758, and all awards remain contingent on the availability and release of federal funds. The Awards for Coordination of Children's Advocacy Center Services for Military Families opportunity supports existing NCA Accredited Children's Advocacy Centers in establishing or expanding partnerships with military installations. Focus 1 addresses CACs establishing military partnerships and may support development of coordinated protocols and guidelines, more efficient service delivery, technology and case-management systems, partnerships with military personnel, coordinated investigative responses, core CAC services for military-affiliated child victims and non-offending caregivers, training for military partners, and outreach to military communities. Focus 2 supports CACs expanding existing military partnerships, including development of best practices and resources, documentation of collaborative models, expansion of service-delivery protocols, continuity systems addressing personnel turnover, sustainability of military-CAC partnerships, expanded coordinated responses, and expanded services and training. Applicants under either focus may support a dedicated military-focused case manager, Victim Advocate, or Liaison position. The maximum award is $50,000 for the proposed January 1, 2027 through December 31, 2027 award period, pending DOJ concurrence. New applicants may seek a one-year award. Current awardees whose projects demonstrate continued need and successful completion of prior-year deliverables may be invited to apply for one additional year through a new subaward. NCA grants operate on a reimbursement basis, so recipients must document both expenses and payment of those expenses before reimbursement. Proposed costs must be complete, cost-effective, reasonable, allocable, necessary, allowable under applicable federal requirements, and incurred during the grant period. Federal funds must supplement existing funds and cannot supplant non-federal funds appropriated for the same purpose. Indirect costs may be charged when supported by a current federally approved indirect cost rate or when an eligible recipient elects the applicable de minimis rate. Lobbying, fundraising, costs unrelated to approved project goals, costs outside the project period, and other federally or NCA-designated unallowable costs cannot be charged to the award. Applicants must be public entities or private nonprofit entities and must be existing NCA Accredited Children's Advocacy Centers. They must be in good standing with requirements associated with previous NCA funding, and current NCA members must remain current with applicable reporting requirements, annual dues, and membership obligations. Accredited applicants undergoing reaccreditation or in pending status must actively fulfill required submissions or approved action plans and meet applicable deadlines. Applicants must have a valid Unique Entity Identifier and maintain an active SAM registration. Organizations recently applying for accreditation and under consideration at NCA's October Board Meeting may apply as an Accredited center pending the Board's decision, but applicants denied Accredited status or assigned new Pending status will be ineligible for funding reserved for Accredited centers. Applications must be submitted through NCA's online application portal. Required application elements include organizational information, a pre-award checklist, a proposal abstract of no more than 400 words, a program narrative, and a grant budget. The narrative addresses the issue or needs statement, project design and implementation, capabilities and competencies, sustainability, and the plan for collecting required performance-measure data. Required uploads include the Grant Proposal Budget and Timeline Excel workbook, the organization's annual budget, an organizational chart, and signed and dated letters of support from partner agencies within the MDT/CAC. Resumes and job descriptions are required when requesting personnel funding, with a job description sufficient for an unfilled position. An indirect cost rate agreement or certification is required when applicable, and organizations expending $1,000,000 or more in federal awards during their fiscal year must provide the applicable Single Audit materials. Letters or memoranda from Family Advocacy Programs or other military programs at partnering installations are recommended. Applications meeting the basic minimum requirements are evaluated by peer reviewers. Merit review assigns 20 percent to the issue or needs statement, 30 percent to project design and implementation, 20 percent to capabilities and competencies, 10 percent to the performance-measure data collection plan, and 20 percent to the budget. NCA may also consider geographic diversity, strategic priorities, demonstrated applicant need, underserved-population service needs, available funding, past performance, and whether project costs are reasonable, necessary, and allowable. NCA may prioritize new applicants to broaden the reach of program support. Final award decisions require approval by NCA's CEO and OJJDP concurrence. Successful submission generates an immediate email confirmation, while the outcome is later emailed to the address associated with the submitting account. Applications were due Friday, August 7, 2026 at 11:59 p.m. EDT, and late or incomplete applications are not accepted. Applicants were encouraged to submit at least 48 hours early. A live RFP webinar was scheduled for July 14, 2026 at 2:00 p.m. EDT. Technical submission assistance is available at grantsadvisor@nca-online.org, although NCA does not accept responsibility for submission technical issues arising within 48 hours of the deadline. Award recipients must submit quarterly financial reports, performance measures and progress reports, a pre-closeout spenddown plan, and an annual audit when applicable. The June 30, 2026 reporting addendum establishes quarterly reporting deadlines of April 9, 2027, July 9, 2027, October 11, 2027, and January 10, 2028. Reimbursement requests must represent actual approved and incurred expenses and include required supporting fiscal documentation.

Use data to demonstrate the size, scope, and effects of the need; clearly align the selected focus, SMART objectives, activities, expected outcomes, timeline, and budget; demonstrate administrative, technical, staffing, and fiscal capacity; provide a credible process for accurate performance measurement; ensure the budget is complete, mathematically sound, cost-effective, reasonable, allocable, necessary, allowable, and consistent with the narrative; submit every basic minimum requirement because incomplete or out-of-scope applications will not advance to peer review.