Attorney General Knudsen awards grants to support Montana Children’s Advocacy Centers

HAMILTON – Attorney General Austin Knudsen announced today the Montana Department of Justice awarded four Children’s Advocacy Centers (CAC) with nearly $150,000 in grant funds to help improve their care for child survivors of crime and abuse. The funding comes from a Johnson & Johnson settlement that resolved allegations the company manufactured, marketed, and knowingly sold baby powder tainted with carcinogenic asbestos.

CACs are facilities that provide care and support for children who have been abused or been a victim of a crime during the investigative process. Since 2024, the nine accredited CAC programs in the state and the Children’s Alliance of Montana each received $20,000 to support their work serving victims of crime and abuse in the first and second phases of the grant funding. In this third phase, accredited CACs are eligible to apply for and receive up to $50,000 in grant funding annually through the program.

This week, Attorney General Knudsen was in Hamilton and awarded Emma’s House Child Advocacy Center in Hamilton with $37,874.69.

“Montana’s child advocacy centers provide a supportive and safe environment for children during difficult times. That is why it is important that the have the funding they need to continue providing these critical services when Montanans need them the most,” Attorney General Knudsen said.

Attorney General Knudsen (right) with Val Widmer

The third phase of the grant program allows CACs to request funds for equipment and information technology; location, environment, and physical setting; and professional training expenses.

The programs that received funding from the third phase so far include:

• Emma’s House Child Advocacy Center: $37,874.69
• Fort Peck Tribes Red Bird Woman Center CAC: $25,243.20
• Lewis and Clark County CAC of AWARE, Inc.: $49,688.50
• First Step – Providence St. Patrick Hospital: $29,700.80

“We are deeply grateful to Attorney General Knudsen for visiting Emma’s House and seeing firsthand how the Children’s Advocacy Center model serves children in the Bitterroot and across Montana. He understands what a CAC means for a case — stronger investigations and stronger prosecutions. More importantly, his thoughtful questions made clear he understands what it means for a child: reduced trauma, ongoing counseling, and a path toward healing. During the visit, Attorney General Knudsen presented Emma’s House with a $38,000 check from the Montana Department of Justice. These funds will support a critical technology upgrade to our forensic interviewing equipment, safety improvements to our building, and training for our MDT partners. This commitment translates directly into safety, justice, and healing for Montana kids. We’re proud to have him as a partner in this work,” Val Widmer, Executive Director, Emma’s House Children’s Advocacy Center said.

CACs provide a mentally and physically safe environment for abused children and their non-offending family members following a report of sexual abuse. The centers are a place for the multidisciplinary team (MDT) performing the investigation and caring for the child to convene, so the child does not have to go see each professional separately, which reduces the chance of additional trauma and the number of interviews or disclosures the child must give. It also increases the chance of successful prosecution by reducing potential evidence collection errors.

The Montana Department of Justice’s Montana Child Sexual Abuse Response Teams (MCSART) currently has memorandums of understanding with the nine accredited CAC programs and the Children’s Alliance of Montana.