Today, the West Virginia Child Advocacy Network (WVCAN) released its Statewide Data for the 2025 fiscal year (July 1, 2024 to June 30, 2025). The data in the report reflects service from West Virginia’s 21 Child Advocacy Centers (CACs) which provided official service to 48 of 55 counties in the state. A CAC provides a safe, child-friendly facility where child protection, criminal justice, and child treatment professionals work together to investigate abuse, hold offenders accountable, and help children heal.
During the fiscal year, West Virginia CACs served 4,734 children – a 7.5% increase in new children served in the last five years. Locally, the North Star Child Advocacy Center (NSCAC) saw 558children during the 2025 calendar year, which is 11% higher than last year.
Some of the highlights from the NSCAC fiscal year report include:
• 37% of the children served were there because of allegations of sexual abuse
• 38% of the children served were there because of allegations of physical abuse
• 35% of the children served were there because of allegations of drug endangerment, 18% higher than the state average, and 31% higher than the national average
• 75% of the children served by NSCAC were under 12 years of age
• 59% of alleged offenders were the child’s parent, 7% were a stepparent, 13% were another relative, 17% were a parent’s boyfriend or girlfriend, and 12% were another known person
• 48% of those served had a reported or suspected disability
• 23% of the children interviewed did NOT disclose abuse
• 56% were female, 44% were male
• 26 children received medical evaluation/treatment
• Therapy/Counseling was initiated for 84 children
• Charges were filed in 29 cases, with 22 offenders being indicted
• The child population in North Star’s official service area is 21,949
• North Star’s current operating budget is $718,839:
o 19% from the State
o 32% from Federal grants
o 2% from Municipal funding (City of Vienna)
o 0% from County funding
o 12% from Foundations
o 2% from the United Way (Medical Program)
o 21% from Donations
o 12% from income generated by NSCAC
• 67% of NSCAC’s budget is for personnel, 28% is for operational expenses
“Although I realize all statistics can be somewhat subjective, they give us a really good understanding of what we are seeing throughout the course of the year and help us make adjustments if needed in order to do a better job for our kids,” states Greg Collins, executive director of North Star. “I think the most important function of these yearly statistics is, it lets the communities we serve know exactly what we are doing. I think the education of the public on how bad this is, leads many to a call to action,” states Collins. “With only five staff members doing the interviewing and the same staff members also doing family advocacy, it’s a painful and heavy lift for them daily. Some months, the stories coming through the front door are gut-wrenching and don’t seem to let up. This staff, CPS, law enforcement, and prosecutors don’t get the credit they deserve for fighting these battles for kids who can’t fight them for themselves,” concluded Collins.
You may contact North Star at 304-917-4437 or via email nscac@northstarcac.org to learn more about how you can help or to request a tour of the facility. You may also contact the Parkersburg Area Community Foundation (PACF) to leave an endowment or a legacy gift to North Star. More information can be found at northstarcac.org.
