Awards for Expanding Access to Children’s Advocacy Centers’ Resources and Services for Victims of Child Sexual Abuse Materials and Child Sex Trafficking (DTVF)

National Children's Alliance is a nonprofit membership organization and accrediting body for the nation's Children's Advocacy Centers. Children's Advocacy Centers are child-friendly facilities where law enforcement, child protection, prosecution, mental health, medical, and victim advocacy professionals work collaboratively to investigate abuse, support children in healing, and hold offenders accountable. 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. Through a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, NCA administers federal funding for the establishment, improvement, and expansion of Children's Advocacy Centers. The Awards for Expanding Access to Children's Advocacy Centers' Resources and Services for Victims of Child Sexual Abuse Materials and Child Sex Trafficking (DTVF) supports the development, expansion, or enhancement of the full array of CAC services for victims of child sexual abuse materials, including victims who are also victims of child sex trafficking. Funding may support emergency services such as clothing, medical care, mental health services, transportation, and qualifying temporary housing resources. Projects may also develop written protocols, guidelines, policies, and procedures for a coordinated CAC and multidisciplinary team response to CSAM and child sex trafficking cases. Training activities may address specialized forensic interviewing, screening and identification, effective mental health interventions, MDT response and service provision, youth-produced sexual images, conferences with a commercial sexual exploitation of children focus, and coordinated responses involving local community organizations and groups. The maximum award amount is $75,000, and the proposed award period is January 1, 2027 through December 31, 2027, pending DOJ concurrence. NCA grants operate on a reimbursement basis, requiring verification of expenses and payment before reimbursement. Proposed costs must occur during the grant period and must be allowable, reasonable, allocable, necessary, and connected to approved project goals and objectives. Federal funds must supplement existing program funds and cannot supplant non-federal funds appropriated for the same purpose. Lobbying, fundraising, costs outside the project period, and expenditures unrelated to approved project goals and objectives are among the prohibited uses. Conference activities funded by the grant require prior written approval. Indirect costs may be charged when the recipient has a current federally approved indirect cost rate or is eligible for and elects the applicable de minimis rate. Applicants must be public entities or private nonprofit entities and must meet the award's organization-specific requirements. Applicants must be existing NCA Accredited Children's Advocacy Centers, be in good standing with NCA reporting and funding requirements, remain current with statistical and grant reporting and annual dues, and maintain membership status throughout the application process and award period. Accredited applicants undergoing reaccreditation or in pending status must actively fulfill submission requirements or approved action plans and meet required deadlines. Certain organizations awaiting an accreditation decision at the NCA October Board Meeting may apply as Accredited centers pending that decision. Applicants must also have a valid Unique Entity Identifier and maintain an active SAM registration as required for federal awards. Applications must be submitted through the NCA online application portal. Required portal elements include organizational information, a pre-award checklist, a proposal abstract of no more than 400 words, a program narrative addressing the issue or need, project design and implementation, organizational capabilities and competencies, a plan for collecting required performance measures, and grant budget information. Required uploads include the Grant Proposal Budget and Timeline Template in Excel format, an organizational chart, the organization's current annual operating budget, and signed and dated letters of support from partner agencies within the MDT or CAC. Depending on the proposed budget and applicant circumstances, resumes and job descriptions, an indirect cost rate agreement or de minimis certification, and an audit may also be required. Applications that fail to meet the basic minimum requirements will not advance to peer review or receive further consideration. Applications meeting the minimum requirements are evaluated through peer review. Merit review assigns 20 percent to the Description of 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 additionally consider geographic diversity, strategic priorities, demonstrated applicant need, service needs of underserved populations, available funding, past performance, and the accuracy and reasonableness of the Grant Proposal Budget and Timeline Template. Final award decisions are approved by NCA's CEO and require OJJDP concurrence. No funds may be expended or disbursed until award documents have been signed and the project budget has received final NCA approval. Applications were due Friday, August 7, 2026 at 11:59 p.m. EDT, and applicants were strongly encouraged to submit at least 48 hours before the deadline. The proposed performance period is January 1 through December 31, 2027. A live RFP webinar was scheduled for July 14, 2026 at 1:00 p.m. EDT. Technical assistance with application submission is available at grantsadvisor@nca-online.org, while RFP questions are submitted through the designated question link. Award recipients must submit quarterly financial reports, performance measures and progress reports, and a pre-closeout spenddown plan, with an annual audit when applicable. The reporting addendum identifies quarterly report deadlines of April 9, July 9, and October 11, 2027, and January 10, 2028. The source does not explicitly establish an annual or other recurring application cycle.

Use data to establish the size, scope, and effects of the identified problem; select only objectives and outcomes relevant to the proposed scope and budget; make objectives specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound; align project design, implementation, timeline, and budget; demonstrate administrative, technical, staffing, and fiscal capacity; provide a clear performance-measure collection and reporting process; ensure the budget is complete, cost-effective, reasonable, allocable, necessary, mathematically sound, and consistent with the application; submit all basic minimum required elements because incomplete applications will not advance to peer review.