Georgia Center for Child Advocacy

💙 Thank You, & 💙

We're grateful for your support of the 31st Annual Cheer for Children Gala. Partners like you help us provide hope, healing, and justice for children impacted by abuse and exploitation.

Together, we're creating a safer future for children.

✨ Sponsorship opportunities are still available! Join us on September 26 for Soft Lights, Jazz Nights: An Evening in New Orleans.

June is Internet Safety Month. One way we can help protect children online is by staying informed about what they may encounter in digital spaces today.

Technology is changing how child sexual abuse and exploitation happen often in ways most people don’t recognize. Talking about it to spread awareness is one of the most powerful actions you can take, but these conversations can feel difficult to begin.

That’s why we created the “Don’t Look Away” Conversation Starter Kit. The guide includes conversation prompts, reflection questions, articles, videos, and additional context around online child sexual exploitation and abuse.

You don't need all the answers. You just need to start.

https://www.thorn.org/blog/dont-look-away-have-a-conversation-about-online-safety-today/

Sleepovers have long been part of childhood memories, but growing awareness about safety risks is rapidly changing how families think about them.

NCA CEO Teresa Huizar is featured in The New York Sun piece written by Hollie McKay about why more parents and caregivers are reconsidering this childhood experience, and how awareness is shaping those decisions: https://www.nysun.com/article/fears-of-sexual-abuse-drugs-and-guns-threaten-a-childhood-institution-the-sleepover?gift=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJnaWZ0RnJvbSI6InljczVubTZ1anlseiIsImlhdCI6MTc4MDc2MjYxMywiZXhwIjoxNzgzMzU0NjEzfQ.4-vkQ_2bnvsTGwyjRy3PzQNL86PuZDAhKLCz8fqwXHs

Join our webinar on Thursday, July 2 @ 12 PM ET to explore how stability across multiple domains shapes healthy development for young children and their caregivers. Our panelists will share specific examples of how organizations, systems, and communities can work together to strengthen stability, support economic mobility, and promote healthy development for children and caregivers.

Register here: https://bit.ly/44bM8ZX

Join us next Thursday via Zoom!

Most of us share photos of the kids we love without a second thought. But in today’s digital world, even those everyday moments can carry risks.

In a new Washington Times op-ed written by NCA CEO Teresa Huizar, she explores why it’s worth pausing before we post, and how we can better protect kids online: https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2026/may/19/dangers-posting-pictures-child-online/

"I saw the coach do things that made me deeply uncomfortable… Am I making a big deal out of nothing?" A parent wrote this to our Helpline recently. Our answer: no.

She described adult-like jokes with 12-year-olds, oversharing about the coach's personal life, and pats near children's lower hips. She asked if this was just him "trying to bond" with his youth athletes.

Crossing boundaries like this is one of the Behaviors to Watch for When Adults Are With Children. It doesn't mean this coach will sexually abuse the kids in his care. Sometimes adults are young or inexperienced and don't realize the environment they're creating.

But when we allow loose boundaries to go unchecked, children learn that it's OK for adults to talk about mature topics or touch them in uncomfortable ways. That makes them more vulnerable to anyone looking to harm youth.

If you're seeing something similar, here's where to start:
→ Document what you saw, in detail.
→ Check in with another parent. Many people see something but feel alone in their concerns.
→ Report up the chain. , for example, has a SafeSport Policy and a dedicated reporting email ([email protected]). You don't need proof to follow up.
→ Consider talking to the coach directly — specific, calm, and without inflammatory language.
→ Talk to your child about your family Safety Plan and which adult behaviors are not OK.

Trust your instincts. You're not making a big deal out of nothing.

Read the full advice column here: https://www.stopitnow.org/advice-column-entry/parent-worried-about-coachs-behavior

From birth, the brain is prepared to form strong, lasting emotional connections with one or more caregivers. These connections begin as a survival need: Without the love and care of adults, a baby cannot survive. But survival is only the beginning. Beyond survival, the interactions between a baby and a caregiver are also the earliest expressions of the question, “Do I matter?”—and the earliest affirmations, “Yes, you matter to me."

Learn more about how a strong sense of mattering supports children's health and well-being in the moment and throughout their life 👉 https://bit.ly/43bXRaX

Influences from a child’s developmental environment shape their developing biological systems, with implications for lifelong health and well-being. This includes everything from air quality to stable access to nutritious foods.

Many of the most prevalent, chronic, and costly diseases of adulthood, such as diabetes and dementia, are rooted in young children’s experiences and exposures. Efforts to address these diseases must also have their roots in early childhood.

Learn more here: https://bit.ly/3P34k0h