Child & Youth Advocacy Centres of Canada

What Child & Youth Advocacy Centres of Canada does

Child & Youth Advocacy Centres of Canada (CYACC) is a nonprofit national membership association established in 2024 and headquartered in Ottawa, Ontario. It functions as the unified national voice for Child and Youth Advocacy Centres (CYACs) across Canada — community-based organizations that deliver coordinated, trauma-informed support to children and youth who have experienced abuse or violence. CYACC represents a network that traces its roots to Ontario's first Child Advocacy Centre established in 1992, formalized by the 2021 National Guidelines for CAC/CYACs in Canada, and now spans 28 founding member CYACs across multiple provinces including bilingual (English/French) coverage.

The organization's core offerings are a membership program, advocacy services, a resources and knowledge hub (anchored by the external Kindex knowledge centre), a news and events platform (including the CYACC Connect newsletter), and an interactive CYAC locator map. CYACC is also developing a national accreditation framework intended to standardize CYAC operations. There is no proprietary technology platform; the digital infrastructure is a conventional bilingual website powered by Exware Association Management software. Membership is tiered based on each CYAC's own operating budget, with a "Supporting a Centre" subsidy fund for centres facing financial barriers, and founding members (those who joined by June 30, 2025) receive special recognition. The organization is governed by a Board of Directors currently recruiting Community-at-Large Directors.

CYACC's revenue model is membership-dues-based, supplemented by advocacy- and capacity-building-related funding, with revenue not publicly disclosed. The go-to-market is direct membership sign-up through the CYACC website, targeting two customer segments: operational CYACs and emerging CYACs in development. Distribution and engagement occur via bilingual digital channels (website, monthly newsletter, RSS), advocacy campaigns, and in-person convenings such as the June 2026 Ontario CYAC Meeting hosted in Niagara. CYACC actively engages at the federal policy level, having responded to the November 2025 Federal Ombudsperson for Victims of Crime report and publicly welcomed the June 2026 passage of Bill C-16 on child protection and gender-based violence.

Name

Child & Youth Advocacy Centres of Canada

Legal name

Child & Youth Advocacy Centres of Canada

Website

https://cyacc.ca

Company type

Private

Founded year

2024

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Child & Youth Advocacy Centres of Canada (CYACC) is a 2024-established nonprofit national membership association headquartered in Ottawa that advocates for and supports a national network of Child and Youth Advocacy Centres delivering coordinated, trauma-informed services to children impacted by abuse across Canada.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Ottawa

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Child & Youth Advocacy Centres of Canada (CYACC) is a national membership association that supports Child and Youth Advocacy Centres (CYACs) across Canada through membership services, advocacy, a resources and knowledge hub, and a bilingual communications platform. It connects operational and developing CYACs, promotes sustainable funding and policy change, and serves as the unified national voice for the CYAC model that delivers coordinated, trauma-informed support to children and youth impacted by abuse.

Product overview

CYACC offers a membership-based national platform for Child and Youth Advocacy Centres across Canada. The organization's primary offerings include membership programs providing networking, advocacy leadership, and governance participation; advocacy services promoting sustainable funding and policy changes; and a resources hub featuring best practice guidelines and the Kindex knowledge centre. Together, these services form a unified national support structure rather than a modular technology platform.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• CYACC Membership Program
• National Advocacy Services
• Resources and Knowledge Hub
• CYACC Connect Newsletter and Events Platform
• Interactive CYAC Directory Map

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

31 partnerships are on record, tiered core and founding.

• Government of CanadacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 19 June 2026CYACC welcomed the passage of Bill C-16, An Act to amend certain Acts in relation to criminal and correctional matters (child protection, gender-based violence). The organization engages with all levels of government to strengthen child protection policies and support intersectoral collaboration.
• Office of the Federal Ombudsperson for Victims of CrimecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 20 November 2025CYACC responded to the Ombudsperson's report 'Rethinking Justice for Survivors of Sexual Violence' calling for coordinated national action to protect children and youth, demonstrating advocacy collaboration at the federal level.
• Alisa's Wish Child and Youth Advocacy CentrefoundingOthersFounding member of CYACC, one of 28 founding member CYACs that helped establish the national association in 2024-2025
• Beacon House London CYAC (lead agency - London Family Court Clinic Inc.)foundingOthersFounding member of CYACC, serving as lead agency for London CYAC
• Big Bear Child & Youth Advocacy CentrefoundingOthersFounding member of CYACC
• Boost Child & Youth Advocacy CentrefoundingOthersFounding member of CYACC
• Caribou Child and Youth Advocacy CentrefoundingOthersFounding member of CYACC
• Central Alberta Child Advocacy CentrefoundingOthersFounding member of CYACC
• Child & Youth Advocacy Centre of Simcoe MuskokafoundingOthersFounding member of CYACC, hosts Ontario CYAC meetings
• Child Advocacy Centre of KelownafoundingOthersFounding member of CYACC
• Child and Youth Advocacy Centre for the District of Nipissing (lead agency - Victims Services of Nipissing District)foundingOthersFounding member of CYACC
• Child & Youth Advocacy Centre of Waterloo RegionfoundingOthersFounding member of CYACC
• Chinook Child and Youth Advocacy CentrefoundingOthersFounding member of CYACC
• Kit's Place Child and Youth Advocacy Centre (lead agency Family Plus Life Solutions)foundingOthersFounding member of CYACC
• Koala Place Child & Youth Advocacy CentrefoundingOthersFounding member of CYACC
• Kristen French Child Advocacy Centre NiagarafoundingOthersFounding member of CYACC, hosts Ontario CYAC meetings
• Lanark Child and Youth Advocacy Centre (LCYAC)foundingOthersFounding member of CYACC
• Little Bear Child & Youth Advocacy CentrefoundingOthersFounding member of CYACC
• Luna Child and Youth Advocacy CentrefoundingOthersFounding member of CYACC
• Marie-Vincent Centre d'appui aux enfants et à la jeunessefoundingOthersFounding member of CYACC (French-language advocacy centre)
• Oak Child and Youth Advocacy CentrefoundingOthersFounding member of CYACC
• Safe Kids & Youth (SKY) Coordinated Response - Kootenay Boundary Community Services CooperativefoundingOthersFounding member of CYACC, serving West Kootenay Region
• Sanare CentrefoundingOthersFounding member of CYACC
• SeaStar Child and Youth Advocacy CentrefoundingOthersFounding member of CYACC
• SIAM - Services Intégrés en Abus et MaltraitancefoundingOthersFounding member of CYACC (French-language organization)
• Toba Centre for Children & YouthfoundingOthersFounding member of CYACC
• Treehouse Child and Youth Advocacy CentrefoundingOthersFounding member of CYACC
• Victoria Child Advocacy and Youth CentrefoundingOthersFounding member of CYACC
• Waypoints Community Services Association/ The Care Centre for Children and YouthfoundingOthersFounding member of CYACC
• Windsor Essex Child and Youth Advocacy Centre (WECYAC)foundingOthersFounding member of CYACC
• Zebra Child & Youth Advocacy CentrefoundingOthersFounding member of CYACC

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Regional players

• Canadian Coalition for the Rights of Children: Canadian national coalition focused on advancing children's rights through policy advocacy and reporting. Comparable to CYACC's federal advocacy role, though from a rights-based rather than service-delivery lens.
• Child Welfare League of Canada: Canada's national child welfare association, representing agencies and professionals serving children, youth, and families. Directly comparable Canadian peer with overlapping remit and member-based governance, though with a broader child welfare focus than CYACC's narrower CYAC mandate.

Broad incumbents

• Kids Help Phone: Canada's leading 24/7 e-mental health service for children and youth. Unlike CYACC, it is a direct service provider rather than a membership association, but operates in the same Canadian child-and-youth wellbeing sector with federal funding and bilingual reach.
• Big Brothers Big Sisters of Canada: Federated national youth-serving organization in Canada with member agencies across provinces. Structurally analogous to CYACC as a national body coordinating local member agencies serving youth, with comparable governance and bilingual imperatives.
• Prevent Child Abuse America: US national organization working to prevent child abuse through advocacy, research, and a network of state chapters. Comparable to CYACC's federal advocacy and standards-promotion role, but at greater scale and operating in a different national context.
• National Children's Bureau (UK): Long-established UK charity that convenes and advocates for organizations serving children and young people. Operates at a broader scope than CYACC but shares the national-coordination, policy-influence, and member-services model.

Direct peers

• Australian Centre for Child Protection: Australian national body supporting child protection research, training, and best-practice dissemination. Comparable to CYACC's combination of knowledge mobilization (via Kindex) and national advocacy for child-serving organizations.
• National Children's Alliance: National membership association for Children's Advocacy Centres in the United States. Closest peer to CYACC, with a very similar model of accrediting member CACs, providing training and resources, and conducting federal advocacy on behalf of the network.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Child & Youth Advocacy Centres of Canada