Robert “Bud” Cramer, Alabama native, and now United States Representative, introduced the concept of the child advocacy center on local, state, and national levels in 1984. The first child advocacy center in the nation was established in Huntsville on May 1, 1985 by Representative Cramer.

In 1986 the Alabama Legislature passed a bill designating the Huntsville location as a pilot child advocacy center program. This opened the door to Victims Of Crime Act funding for our first center. The Alabama Network of Children’s Advocacy Centers began as an informal organization with Bud Cramer as the first president of the organization. During the next decade, Alabama would establish 10 centers across the state and lead the nation in the development of child advocacy centers. The model, developed here in Alabama, has spread to more than 900 sites across the United States and several foreign countries.

Legislation was passed in 1990 to fund seven full-member centers in Alabama. In 1992 House Bill 446 passed and the Alabama Network Standards became written law. Four years later, the Network was recognized as a State Chapter by The National Network of Children’s Advocacy Centers, which is now the National Children’s Alliance.