Funds needed to benefit Child Protection Training Center

Efforts to raise $3 million to establish the National Child Protection Training Center on the campus of the NorthWest Arkansas Community College are well underway with $680,000 in pledges, according to a recent press release from the college.

The center will be one of a handful in the country serving a 16-state area. The funds are needed to renovate the former Highlands Oncology building into the dedicated training facility. Once completed the facility will house a fully furnished mock home, mock court rooms, forensic interview rooms, medical exam training rooms, and an online crimes against children training room among other specialized “laboratory” spaces to engage in hands-on learning.

The NCPTC and its regional centers work to end child abuse, neglect, and other forms of child maltreatment in three generations through education, training, awareness, prevention, advocacy and the pursuit of justice.

The most recent pledges came from the Arkansas State Lodge Fraternal of Police who gave $1,000, while the Fayetteville unit committed $500.