Iowa Chapter of Children's Advocacy Centers

04/21/2026

Tomorrow is Drug Endangered Children (DEC) awareness day. You can easily show your support by wearing the color RED! ❤️

04/20/2026

04/17/2026

📌Welcome back to another edition of Fact Friday!

In 2025, these were the top three reported allegations resulting in children being seen at one of our Child Advocacy Centers:

1) Sexual Abuse

2) Physical Abuse

3) Drug Endangerment

‼️Additionally, at least one child was seen for allegations of abuse from ALL 99 counties in Iowa. We often hear, "that does not happen in my county, town, neighborhood, etc." Our goal is not to make you scared, but to educate that abuse does in fact occur in EVERY county, town, and neighborhood...all across Iowa.

💙Working Together to Protect Iowa`s Children 💙

04/16/2026

On Monday, The Allen Child Protection Center at UnityPoint Health - Waterloo had the opportunity to provide a tour of their current facility to Congresswoman Ashley Hinson`s staffer, Keith Kaspari. As a part of their tour, they explained the services they provide and showed Keith their button jar, which currently holds over 6,000 buttons, each representing a patient that has been seen at their location.

Thank you Keith for your time and for your desire to help protect children in the state of Iowa!

The Allen Child Protection Center currently has a capital campaign for renovations at a new location, as they have outgrown their current space. If you are interested in making a donation to their campaign, please visit: https://www.unitypoint.org/giving/allen-foundation/areas-to-support/allen-child-protection-center-giving

04/14/2026

Come see us today at the Statewide Resource Expo!

04/13/2026

On Thursday, April 9th, Governor Reynolds signed into law SF2416. The passage of this law will not only have a positive impact on children to ensure they receive the services they need, but it also allows for best practices to be followed in the state of Iowa. This ensures:

🔹Children can be interviewed by a specially trained Forensic Interviewer
🔹Allows for the Child Advocacy Center (CAC) Model to be followed, utilizing a multidisciplinary team (MDT) approach that reduces the amount of times children will have to recount traumatic details
🔹Provides better collaboration in investigations of child abuse

Thank you Governor Kim Reynolds for seeing the value in this bill and for protecting children!

04/10/2026

Welcome back to another edition of Fact Friday in honor of Child Abuse Prevention Month! 📣

💔A common misconception is that most children are abused by strangers. The sad reality is that majority of alleged offenders are someone known by the child, oftentimes someone close to the child and trusted by the child.

❗️In recent years, both national and state data showed around 80% of alleged offenders were known to the child.

‼️2025 national data shows 93% of children 18 years and younger, knew their alleged offender. This means, only 7% of cases had an unknown/stranger as the perpetrator.

‼️2025 data for the state of Iowa, shows that of the 4, 120 children and dependent adults seen at a Child Advocacy/Protection Center, 96% of those alleged offenders were known to the victim.

We want to be very clear here, this means ONLY 4% of alleged offenders in cases in the state of IOWA were someone not known to the victim.

Iowa, we have some work to do.

04/10/2026

🔷Happy Wear Blue Day!! 🔷

Drop your photos showing off your blue below! 💙🩵

April 10th is National Wear Blue Day in honor of Child Abuse Prevention Month. Do you have your outfit ready?? Only three more days! 🩵💙🩵💙

04/09/2026

Our Executive Director, Danica Haas, had the opportunity to speak today about Child Abuse Prevention Month and the importance of passing a bill in Iowa to require prevention education in schools.

A bill aimed at teaching Iowa students how to recognize abuse and stay safe has failed to pass once again, leaving advocates concerned that thousands of childre

04/09/2026

Looking for something to do this evening? Look no further!

Attend the Stewards of Children training this evening from 5-8PM at the Waterloo Public Library and learn how to prevent, recognize, and respond to child abuse.

💙Working Together to Protect Iowa`s Children 💙

01/09/2026

Today, we honor the brave men and women who serve and protect our communities every day. Your dedication, courage, and commitment to public safety do not go unnoticed.

Thank you for protecting children and holding those accountable that cause harm. We appreciate you today and everyday.

Happy Law Enforcement Appreciation Day! 🚓👮‍♂️👮‍♀️

12/29/2025

As the year comes to a close, you can help change a child’s story. 💙

⭐Every child deserves to feel safe, supported, and believed.

📣Your year-end gift helps our organization provide support to the Child Advocacy Centers in Iowa so they can continue to provide critical services to children affected by abuse.

💙Join us in standing up for children when they need it most. When you give before December 31, your donation helps ensure children and families start the new year with hope, strength, and the care they deserve.

📌Give online today or have your check postmarked by December 31st to count in your 2025 giving.

https://www.paypal.com/donate?token=qloxVmfERybrYDkL_TfieOufAe66yS8XgAaXsbnm7hfVeqsrEJvEpAQPApsqkTp6TUkui94jQ7AsQUy5