Our History
New Hampshire’s Child Advocacy Center Movement
New Hampshire’s efforts to better protect its children date back to 1983, when the New Hampshire State Senate established a committee to study the State’s child protection system. Recommendations from that committee led to the creation of the Attorney General’s Task Force on Child Abuse, which would ultimately inspire the creation of New Hampshire’s first Child Advocacy Center, the Child Advocacy Center of Rockingham County.
With the CAC of Rockingham County providing a successful model, Governor Craig Benson issued an executive order in July, 2003 to establish the Governor’s Commission for Child Protection. In November, 2003, that Commission issued its findings and recommended the development of a statewide network of Child Advocacy Centers. Governor Benson and Attorney General Peter Heed then secured funding to help establish CACs in every county of the State, with the funding for each Center phasing down over a period of 5 years.
The Granite State Children’s Alliance (GSCA) was born in 2004 as the Child Advocacy Center of Hillsborough County. Now, after merging with the Greater Lakes Child Advocacy Center and Monadnock Region Child Advocacy Center in 2011, the Granite State Children’s Alliance operates CACs in Keene, Laconia, Manchester and Nashua. The GSCA is also the membership organization for all Child Advocacy Center programs in New Hampshire, providing technical assistance, training, and organizational resources to ensure that all children in our State have access to high quality, comprehensive, specialized and culturally competent services.
