Mission Statement
The New York State Children's Alliance is an organization created to promote the development, growth and continuation of multidisciplinary teams and child advocacy centers throughout New York State in order to better serve abused and neglected children and their families.

History
Through the initiative of the New York State Child Advocacy Resource and Consultation Center (NYSCARCC), a program of Safe Horizon, an informal statewide network of multidisciplinary investigative teams (MDT's) and child advocacy centers (CAC's) was established in 1996. This network initially served as a springboard for information sharing, networking and peer support of its members. In 1998 the network applied for state chapter status from the National Children's Alliance. A state chapter grant was received in 1999 to support mentoring, a Leadership Conference and conference calls. A Leadership Conference was held in June 1999. Participants included MDT Leaders and CAC Directors from across the state. It soon became apparent that although NYSCARCC was able to provide training, technical assistance and information sharing to communities on MDT and CAC development, a more organized coalition was needed to promote the development of these models throughout New York State. Attendees started to identify the different roles of NYSCARCC and a statewide network. A steering committee was established to implement the ideas that emerged at this conference.

Organization
As a result, the New York State Children's Alliance was created in May 2000. Members consist of representatives of multidisciplinary investigative teams and child advocacy centers from communities across the state. An 11-member Advisory Board is the decision making body of the organization. Members of this board are elected by the membership and are representative of all the 8 regions within the state, and both operational MDT's and CAC's. To encourage participation from every county within the state, both statewide and regional meetings are held annually.

Click here for a map of New York State Children's Alliance regions.

Objectives
The NYS Children's Alliance provides an avenue for members to network, obtain cutting-edge information and expand the use of MDT's and CAC's. The objectives of the organization are to:

	Disseminate information from NCA
	Advocate for legislative support
	Initiate promotional activities regarding the MDT and CAC models
	Partner with other NYS organizations that share similar goals regarding child abuse prevention
	Collaborate with the New York State Child Advocacy Resource and Consultation Center (NYSCARCC)

Advisory Board Member List

Chair Marla Behler Putnam County Child Advocacy Center 121 Main Street Brewster, NY  10509 Tel: 845 278 5215 Fax: 845 278 0581 marla.behler@putnamcountyny.com	Vice Chair/ Capital Region Renee Roman START Children's Center 76 Pawling Avenue Troy, NY 12180 Tel: 518 2716001 Fax: 518 271 6836 rroman@startcac.com
Western Region / Secretary Judith Olin Lee Gross Anthone Child Advocacy Center 556 Franklin Street Buffalo, NY 14202 Tel: 716 886 5437 Fax: 716 886 5888 jolin@catswny.org	NYSCARCC / Membership Chair Christine Schoonmaker NYSCARCC 312 Lynn Road Camillus, NY 13031 Tel: 315 488 3116 Fax: 315 488 0701 cschoonm@twcny.rr.com
Central Region Tim Hagen Chenango County Multidisciplinary Team 3 O'Hara Drive Norwich, NY 13815 Tel: 607 334 8244 Fax: 607 336 5779 thagen@ccofcc.com	Metropolitan Region Myra Shapiro Queens Child Advocacy Center 112-25 Queens Boulevard Forest Hills, NY 11375 Tel: 718 575 1342 Fax: 718 575 1645 mshapiro@safehorizon.org
Hudson Valley Region Wendy Breitner Children's Advocacy Center at WIHD Cedarwood Hall Valhalla, NY 10595 Tel: 914 493 8197 Fax: 914 493 1023 wbreitner@wihd.org	Mohawk Region Wendi Bazan Herkimer County Child Advocacy Center 205 North Washington Street Herkimer, NY 13350 Tel: 315 866 0748 Fax: 315 866 0852 wbazan@ywcamv.org
North Region Ed Belles Harriet M. West Child Advocacy Center 359 Ballston Avenue Saratoga Springs, NY 12866 Tel: 518 587 8008 Fax: 518 587 8241 edbelles@saratogacff.org Rochester Region Kimberly Ripley Chemung County Child Advocacy Center 304 Hoffman Street Elmira, NY 14902 Tel: 607 737 8449 Fax: 607 737 8444 kimberly.ripley@dfa.state.ny.us Ex Officio Kevin Revere Oneida County Child Advocacy Center 930 York Street Utica, NY  13502 Tel: 315 732 3990 Fax: 315 732 2804 oneidacac@yahoo.com