Denver Children's Advocacy Center

What Denver Children's Advocacy Center does

Denver Children's Advocacy Center (DCAC) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 1995 and headquartered at 2149 Federal Blvd in Denver, Colorado, operating the Denver County child abuse multidisciplinary team (MDT) facility under the national Children's Advocacy Centers model. Its core services are forensic interviews conducted by trained interviewers in a child-friendly setting, evidence-based mental health treatment (EMDR, TF-CBT, AF-CBT, Child-Parent Psychotherapy, PSB-CBT), victim advocacy across the criminal investigation process, and integrated pediatric medical evaluations delivered in partnership with Denver Health pediatricians. The organization also runs the Safe from the Start prevention program in Denver Public Schools, the Immigrant Family Initiative for undocumented and limited-English-proficiency families, and the Family Market for basic-needs support, all delivered at no cost to families regardless of insurance or immigration status.

DCAC coordinates with four government MDT partners - the Denver Police Department, the Denver District Attorney's Office, the Denver Department of Human Services, and Denver Health - which together refer cases into the facility and observe forensic interviews. Operational throughput reached 4,796 mental health treatment sessions and 740 forensic interviews over the past year, against a Denver County caseload of more than 4,400 child abuse reports. Prevention delivery has run for eight continuous years in Denver Public Schools (ECE through 5th grade) using a Committee for Children curriculum approved by the district's Health Program and Research Review Committee and aligned to Erin's Law.

The business model is donation- and grant-funded: services are provided free of charge, there is no fee structure, and there are no disclosed funding rounds, venture investment, or parent company. The organization is governed by a Board of Directors under Executive Director Will Braunstein, with a team that includes Director-level leaders across Treatment and Assessment, Finance and Operations, Community Outreach, Development, and Rapid Response, alongside Master's-level therapists, bilingual forensic interviewers and family advocates, prevention specialists, and intake staff. Geographic reach is primarily Denver County, with new extension into Adams County via a Head Start mental health consultant hired in August 2025; revenue, 990 filings, and donor concentration are not disclosed in the source material.

Name

Denver Children's Advocacy Center

Legal name

Denver Children's Advocacy Center

Website

https://denvercac.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1995

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Denver Children's Advocacy Center is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 1995 that runs Denver County's multidisciplinary child abuse response facility, providing forensic interviews, evidence-based mental health treatment, victim advocacy, integrated medical care, and abuse prevention services to children and families at no cost.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Child Advocacy and Family Support Services

NAICS

Child and Youth Services (62411), Other Individual and Family Services (624190), Child and Youth Services (624110)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Health Services (8000)

akta.pro primary industry

Mental Health & Emotional/Trauma-Informed Childcare (anxiety, PTSD) (HSAAAIAI)

Keywords

• Child advocacy services
• Forensic interview services
• Trauma therapy programs
• Victim advocacy support
• Child abuse prevention

Headquarters

HQ city

Denver

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Donations and Charitable Contributions: DCAC is a nonprofit organization that relies on donations, grants, and charitable contributions to fund operations. Services are provided at no cost to families regardless of insurance status or immigration status.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

DCAC delivers a coordinated, multidisciplinary response to child abuse and neglect through forensic interviews, victim advocacy, integrated medical evaluations, and evidence-based mental health treatment for child victims and their non-offending family members. Services also include a school-based child sexual abuse prevention curriculum (Safe from the Start) and a specialized Immigrant Family Initiative with bilingual therapists. All services are provided at no cost regardless of insurance or immigration status.

Product overview

Denver Children's Advocacy Center operates as a nonprofit organization providing a coordinated response to child abuse and neglect through three interconnected service areas: prevention (Denver Safe from the Start program), rapid response (forensic interviews, victim advocacy, integrated medical care), and treatment (mental health therapy services). The organization also offers specialized support through the Immigrant Family Initiative and operates the Family Market resource program. DCAC is part of a national network of Child Advocacy Centers and serves as a multidisciplinary team hub in Denver County, partnering with Denver Police Department, Denver District Attorney's Office, Denver Department of Human Services, and Denver Health.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Safe from the Start: Child sexual abuse prevention program for grades ECE-5th using a curriculum from Committee for Children, with 5 lessons of 15-20 minutes each, teaching personal safety, touching safety, and assertiveness.
• DCAC Family Market
• Immigrant Family Initiative

Products and services

• Mental Health Treatment Services
• Forensic Interviews
• Victim Advocacy
• Integrated Medical Care
• Safe from the Start
• Immigrant Family Initiative
• DCAC Family Market

Quantifiable outcome

• 4,796 mental health treatment sessions provided last year
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Denver Police DepartmentcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDCAC is a member of the child-focused multidisciplinary team in Denver county. The multidisciplinary approach draws on all agencies' collective wisdom and expertise to maximize outcomes for children and families during the investigative process. Forensic interviewers conduct neutral, fact-finding interviews observed by the investigative team including law enforcement.
• Denver District Attorney's OfficecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPart of the multi-disciplinary team responding to child abuse in Denver county. The team maximizes outcomes for children and families during the investigative and prosecution process.
• Denver Department of Human ServicescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDCAC is a member of the child-focused multidisciplinary team in Denver county. The Denver Department of Human Services responded to over 4,400 reports of child abuse last year. DCAC serves as first responders to reports of child abuse and neglect in Denver county.
• Denver HealthcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPart of the multi-disciplinary team providing integrated medical care. Medical evaluations are available to all children seen at DCAC at no cost to the family. DCAC works with pediatricians specially trained in child abuse and neglect cases.
• Denver Public SchoolscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSafe from the Start has been presenting in Denver Public Schools for 8 years, where it was approved by both The Health Program and Research Review Committee. The program meets requirements for Erin's Law.
• Tom Barrett, Ph.D.minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSince 2016, DCAC has consulted with evaluation specialist Tom Barrett, former State Mental Health Director and clinical professor at University of Denver's Graduate School of Professional Psychology. Dr. Barrett helped develop tailored evaluation processes for each population.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Others

• National Children's Alliance: National accrediting body and member network for Child Advocacy Centers, of which DCAC is a member. Comparable as the umbrella organization connecting DCAC's work to a national standards and funding ecosystem.
• Prevent Child Abuse America: National advocacy and chapter network promoting child abuse prevention through education and awareness. Adjacent to DCAC's prevention work; serves as an ecosystem partner for statewide prevention policy.
• Committee for Children: National nonprofit developing the second-step and child sexual abuse prevention curricula DCAC uses in Safe from the Start. Functions as a content/supplier partner rather than direct competitor, but operates in adjacent curriculum-based prevention space.
• National Center for Missing & Exploited Children: National nonprofit addressing child victimization including abuse and exploitation through case management, recovery, and prevention. Comparable child-victim advocacy mission but operates a national hotline/casework model rather than local forensic-clinical delivery like DCAC.

Direct peers

• Dallas Children's Advocacy Center: Largest and most established CAC in the U.S., providing the same forensic interview, mental health treatment, victim advocacy, and multi-disciplinary team model. Directly comparable operating model to DCAC at greater scale.
• Harris County Children's Advocacy Center (Houston): Texas-based CAC operating the same coordinated MDT response model with forensic interviews, therapy, and family advocacy. Closest direct operational peer in mission, scope, and service mix to DCAC.
• Los Angeles County + USC Medical Center Violence Intervention Program: Major urban CAC-equivalent providing trauma-focused mental health, forensic services, and MDT coordination for child abuse victims in Los Angeles County. Comparable scale and urban county-wide mandate to DCAC's Denver County role.

Emerging players

• Childhelp: National nonprofit focused on child abuse prevention, treatment, and advocacy with a similar trauma-informed lens. Comparable mission overlap but operates nationally through advocacy and hotline channels rather than DCAC's local MDT service model.
• Darkness to Light: National child sexual abuse prevention organization delivering training and curricula to adults and organizations. Comparable to DCAC's Safe from the Start prevention program in scope, though Darkness to Light focuses on adult education rather than direct school-based delivery.

Regional players

• Safe Horizon: New York City's largest victim services nonprofit providing counseling, advocacy, and shelter for survivors of abuse and violence including child victims. Operates a comparable trauma-informed mental health and advocacy model but is geographically restricted to NYC, similar to DCAC's Denver County scope.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/DCAC01
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/denver-children's-advocacy-center
• Instagraminstagram.com/denverchildrensadvocacycenter
• Xx.com/DenverCAC

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Denver Children's Advocacy Center