Why It Matters

Child advocacy centers across the country depend heavily on federal funding streams, particularly through the Victims of Child Abuse Act and the Crime Victims Fund. Reporting from Colorado in late 2024 documented centers "scrambling for money amid federal cuts," with one director warning that "2026 is going to be very, very difficult." The Trump administration's approach to federal grants has also created delays in disbursing funds through the Justice Department's Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, from which the National Children's Alliance (NCA) administers more than $15 million for member centers.

By the Numbers

NCA filed a first quarter 2026 lobbying disclosure reporting $140,000 in in-house lobbying expenditures, its highest single-quarter in-house spend in at least two years. This filing is one of two first quarter 2026 lobbying disclosures NCA submitted. The second, filed by outside firm HB Strategies, reported $100,000 for the same quarter, bringing NCA's combined first-quarter 2026 lobbying spend to $240,000.

The in-house filing reflects a notable jump. NCA's in-house disclosures held steady at $120,000 in both the third and fourth quarters of 2025. The first quarter 2026 figure of $140,000 marks a roughly 17 percent increase quarter over quarter.

NCA's in-house lobbying operation, run by its director of government affairs, Denise Edwards, has reported $1,214,000 across nine filings over the past two years. Quarterly in-house figures have ranged from $54,000 to $231,000, reflecting some variability tied to appropriations cycles.

The in-house team consists solely of Edwards. On the outside lobbying side, HB Strategies has represented NCA continuously since at least the second quarter of 2025. The firm's team for NCA has included Joe Novotny, a former chief clerk on the Education and Labor Committee, and Stacy McBride, a former chief of staff to Sen. Roy Blunt (R-MO). A third lobbyist, Christian Morgan, who previously served as chief of staff to Rep. Ann Wagner (R-MO-2), was listed as inactive in the fourth quarter of 2025 and dropped from the first-quarter 2026 filing entirely.

NCA also previously retained CJ Lake LLC, which filed a termination in the third quarter of 2025, ending that relationship. The firm had listed no lobbyists or specific issues across its filings, suggesting a limited role.

The Agenda

The first-quarter 2026 in-house filing lists no specific issues lobbied. That stands in contrast to NCA's prior in-house filings, which consistently cited "Fiscal Year 2026 CJS Appropriations," a reference to the Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies appropriations bill, which funds Justice Department grant programs that flow to child advocacy centers.

The HB Strategies filing for the same quarter, by contrast, listed "Victims of Crime Act, Victims of Child Abuse Act; Appropriations for Fiscal Year 2025 Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies" as its lobbying focus, consistent with what that firm has reported across every quarter it has represented NCA.

Broader Context

Rep. Ann Wagner (R-MO-2), whose former chief of staff previously lobbied for NCA through HB Strategies, has been the most visible congressional champion for the organization's priorities. In June 2025, Wagner tweeted that she had received NCA's "Champion for Children" award and stated: "The Crime Victims Fund (CVF) remains at far too low a balance, threatening the child advocacy centers in all fifty states. My bill, the CVF Stabilization Act, provides the necessary resources, with non-taxpayer dollars, to provide critical support to the CVF." Wagner followed up in October 2025 with a visit to a local child advocacy center, noting she had secured 316 bipartisan cosponsors for the CVF Stabilization Act and was pushing for a House floor vote.

Rep. Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA-6) also weighed in on the funding environment in October 2025 after visiting a local Children's Alliance Center. "CAC's work is absolutely vital and funding is always at risk," she wrote. "The lack of a consistent budget in both Pennsylvania and DC have caused increased uncertainty at a time when demand for services is growing."

The core challenge NCA faces is an appropriations environment where funding for child advocacy centers is neither guaranteed nor stable, with the Crime Victims Fund balance a persistent concern.

The Bottom Line

NCA's first-quarter 2026 in-house lobbying spend is its highest reported in recent quarters, and the organization continues to run a dual-track operation combining in-house and outside lobbying. The outside firm's filings provide the clearest window into NCA's issue focus, centering on the Victims of Child Abuse Act, the Victims of Crime Act, and CJS appropriations. Taken together, these records depict an organization that has maintained consistent engagement on federal funding for child advocacy centers.

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