Re-Accreditation Valid for 5 Years for Safe Harbor Children’s Advocacy Center

For the fifth time under Executive Director Lori Antkoviak’s leadership, Safe Harbor Children’s Advocacy Center is recommended for re-accreditation by the National Children’s Alliance (NCA), as announced to the agency in an email on June 18, 2026.

Serving as the oversight and accrediting agency for all Children’s Advocacy Centers (CACs) across the country, NCA staff “are thrilled to recommend Safe Harbor for reaccreditation,” the lead site reviewer announced. After this recommendation process, the site review team sends their findings and a scoring form to NCA’s Accreditation Department, which then reaccredits the CAC.

“Having this accreditation by the NCA ensures that our children and families in Allegan, Barry and Van Buren counties are getting the highest quality level of coordinated and evidence-supported services through their local CAC, Safe Harbor Children’s Advocacy Center,” said Antkoviak. “Our staff, board members and Multidisciplinary Team Members from each county work to ensure that we are not only upholding these rigorous standards, but also surpassing them, because that’s what our community and kids deserve.”

During the re-accreditation process, Safe Harbor was required to provide years’-long, extensive documentation, culminating in a full-day onsite visit with an NCA two-person accreditation team, all to prove the agency upholds the following nine essential standards:

1) Multidisciplinary Team Standard
2) Forensic Interview Standard
3) Victim Support and Advocacy Standard
4) Medical Evaluation Standard
5) Mental Health Standard
6) Case Review and Coordination Standard
7) Case Tracking Standard
8) Organizational Capacity Standard
9) Child Safety and Protection Standard

“The Standards for Accreditation for Children’s Advocacy Centers represent the evidence-supported core competencies of the CAC model,” according to the NCA’s National Standards of Accreditation for Children’s Advocacy Centers, June 2023 edition.

Although the formal reaccreditation process is completed, the daily work continues as the agency strives to keep our kids and families safe, all the while providing them with hope and healing through evidence-supported interventions.

In 2025, Safe Harbor staff:
– Provided Forensic Interviews to 335 children throughout the three counties we serve
– Provided 65 children with counseling services
– Presented about body safety to 7,145 children
– Supported 11 kids through our Court-Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) program

If you would like to get involved to help the kids of Allegan, Barry and Van Buren counties, please email development@safeharborcac.org.