June 13, 2023

The Gulf Coast Children's Advocacy Center has partnered with the Bay Point Billfish Open for the tournament held June 28-July 1, 2023. The GCCAC will benefit from all sales of adult wine, beer and spirits. Our agency is grateful to the organizers and support of the Bay Point Billfish Open for supporting our mission.  read more

May 10, 2022

Parent Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) is a therapy program in which the therapist partners with caregivers to strengthen the relationship with their child(ren) and learn to set limits in a healthy and effective way.  read more

September 8, 2021

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August 30, 2021

Local Partnerships Expand Project Lifesaver collaboration among Bay Health Foundation, Gulf Coast Children’s Advocacy Center, Alzheimer’s Alliance & Springfield Police Department, Panama City Beach Police Department and Bay County Sheriff’s Office   read more

November 4, 2020

The Gulf Coast Children's Advocacy Center is honored to partner with the United Way of NW FL to provide assistance to individuals in Bay County negatively financially impacted by COVID-19. Please follow steps to below to determine eligibility.  read more

November 1, 2020

Friday night, Beachy Beach Real Estate hosted a trunk-or-treat and chili cook-off in an effort to raise money for the Gulf Coast Children’s Advocacy Center.  read more

September 27, 2020

Support the CAC by supporting these amazing local business partners! #bethelight  read more

July 20, 2020

In 2019, Central Panhandle Association of Realtors held their inaugural Festival of Trees which raised $10,000 toward the Gulf Coast Children's Advocacy Center.  read more

June 14, 2020

Lauren’s Kids, AshBritt to Break Ground on Renovating Children’s Advocacy Center Ravaged by Hurricane Michael  read more

April 14, 2020

We are proud of our collective work accomplished during the post-disaster year following Hurricane Michael. There is no doubt #loveprotects.  read more

April 13, 2020

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April 13, 2020

1.5 billion children are impacted by school closure. To help parents better interact with their children during this time of confinement, check out #COVID19Parenting tips on staying positive, creating a daily routine and managing stress - bit.ly/COVID19_parenting #coronavirus   read more

January 1, 2020

The Gulf Coast Children’s Advocacy Center (GCCAC) is seeking bids for video production for a series of prevention education materials. Bids are requested to be submitted in the form of total expense anticipated and the amount donated as PSA or in kind.  read more

September 5, 2019

The Gulf Coast Children’s Advocacy Center (GCCAC) is seeking bids for commercial flooring at 210 East 11th Street, Panama City (approx. 11,000 sq ft) On site measuring and specifications will be required. Appointments can be made with Faith Goodman, 872-7760.  read more

September 3, 2019

The Gulf Coast Children’s Advocacy Center (GCCAC) is seeking bids for a qualified contractual Facility Maintenance support in Bay, Gulf, Calhoun, Jackson, Holmes and Washington counties. This outsourcing strategy has been designed to secure a broad and reliable range of services from a vendor prepared to take the defined responsibilities for facility maintenance of the Gulf Coast Children’s Advocacy Center. Responses to this RFP may be submitted by email to: Brent Patrick Chief Operations Officer Gulf Coast Children’s Advocacy Center Inc. 210 East 11th Street Panama City, Florida 32401 brent.patrick@gulfcoastcac.org All responses are due by Thursday, September 15th 2019 by 5:00PM.   read more

September 3, 2019

The Gulf Coast Children’s Advocacy Center (GCCAC) is seeking bids for a qualified contractual Information Technology (IT) support in Bay, Gulf, Calhoun, Jackson, Holmes and Washington counties. This outsourcing strategy has been designed to secure a broad and reliable range of services from a vendor prepared to take the defined responsibilities for the tuning, reliability, and integration of the Gulf Coast Children’s Advocacy Center’s information systems. Responses to this RFP may be submitted by email to: Brent Patrick Chief Operations Officer Gulf Coast Children’s Advocacy Center Inc. 210 East 11th Street Panama City, Florida 32401 brent.patrick@gulfcoastcac.org All responses are due by Thursday, September 15th 2019 by 5:00PM.  read more

May 15, 2019

The Gulf Coast Children's Advocacy Center is seeking bids for landscape recovery at its primary location in Panama City. The request should include all expenses related to irrigation restoration, replanting shrubs, flowers, trees, and sod, mulch (pinestraw), and stabilization of standing trees. Please submit questions or proposals by June 1 to: Lori Allen 210 East 11th Street Panama City, Florida 32401 lori.allen@gulfcoastcac.org  read more

January 1, 2019

2019 - Calendar of GCCAC Board Meetings  read more

December 28, 2018

Despite losing its original venue due to the effects of Hurricane Michael, the Gulf Coast Children’s Advocacy Center has announced that the 8th annual Stars and Guitars benefit concert will be held this coming February and will feature country music legend Travis Tritt.  read more

December 21, 2018

With families in the Panhandle needing assistance more than ever after the destruction caused by Hurricane Michael, the Gulf Coast Children’s Advocacy Center was able to supply around 350 local children in Bay and surrounding counties with much needed Christmas gifts - just in time for the big day.  read more

December 11, 2018

This Thursday, December 13, 2018, Sharky’s Beachfront Restaurant will be donating 100% of the day’s lunch and dinner proceeds to the Gulf Coast Children’s Advocacy Center. Featuring great food and live entertainment, the fundraiser is part of Sharky’s annual Bay Helping Bay event series benefiting charities and non-profits in Bay County.  read more

November 26, 2018

Panama City, Fl - #GivingTuesday is a global day of giving that harnesses the collective power of a unique blend of partners—charities, families, businesses, and individuals—to encourage philanthropy and to celebrate generosity worldwide. #GivingTuesday is held annually on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving, this year, November 27, 2018, to kick off the holiday giving season and to inspire people to give back.  read more

November 16, 2018

In the fifth week after hurricane Michael blasted through the Gulf Coast, one thing has remained the same, the dedication of the staff at the Gulf Coast Children’s Advocacy Center. Despite many of its employees having lost their homes and a number of the CAC’s buildings sustaining damage, the group was back to work serving families of this community within one week of the storm.  read more

May 3, 2018

Eastern Shipbuilding Group hosted their 16th Annual Freshwater Classic this past weekend at Gaskin Park in Wewahitchka. The charity fishing tournament raises money each year to give back to our community's most vulnerable. The hard working men and women of Eastern Shipbuilding Group, and their amazing community partners, raised $30,000 for the Gulf Coast Children's Advocacy Center which serves: Bay, Gulf, Calhoun, Jackson, Washington, & Holmes Counties.  read more

April 27, 2018

Panama City, FL – The work of the Gulf Coast Children’s Advocacy Center’s Community Outreach Program came full circle today with the Lewd and Lascivious Molestation conviction of Johnny Ray Strickland of Fountain. Strickland was arrested in 2017 by the Bay County Sheriff’s Office after a nine-year-old third grader came forward, following a classroom outreach session, and disclosed sexual abuse by her neighbor.  read more

November 3, 2017

Check out our September/October Newsletter highlighting!! #educateadvocateprevent #GulfCoastCAC  read more

September 4, 2017

Check out the latest news from the Gulf Coast Children's Advocacy Center in our August newsletter.  read more

July 31, 2017

Check out the July Newsletter for the CAC!! Lots of great information, including all you need to know about mandated reporting.  read more

June 1, 2017

Check out our May/June Newsletter highlighting our new Parent as Teachers Program!! #educateadvocateprevent #GulfCoastCAC   read more

April 29, 2017

We are looking for a dedicated member to join an amazing team of professionals dedicated to helping our community's most vulnerable. Please find the position detail below and email your resume by May 5th to LoriAllen@gulfcoastcac.us or Lori.Allen@flhealth.gov.  read more

April 15, 2017

CAC Newsletter Volume 1, Issue 4-April 2017. Child Abuse Prevention Month Edition!!  read more

March 23, 2017

Keep up to date with all the latest news and stories of hope from the Gulf Coast Children's Advocacy Center!!  read more

March 23, 2017

So many thanks to Rick Cooper Photography for these amazing photos from Designer Purse Bingo! Professionally high quality prints of any image may be ordered thru him. He will donate 20% of the net proceeds back to the CAC. https://www.dropbox.com/sh/t7xjdn1vp6mats5/AADdv2cijPjiH5CBGPdtl6pca?dl=0  read more

February 25, 2017

Keep up to date with all the latest news and stories of hope from the Gulf Coast Children's Advocacy Center!!  read more

January 31, 2017

Check out the newest edition of the our agency's monthly newsletter! #educateadvocateprevent  read more

December 6, 2016

PANAMA CITY - On Sunday evenings, Lori Allen sits down to scan national news headlines, looking for any case involving serious child abuse or child homicide. Allen, executive director of the Gulf Coast Children's Advocacy Center, can usually guess the facts of a case just by reading the headline. On a child homicide, the perpetrator generally will be a non-related caregiver - typically a boyfriend. There's usually a history of maternal substance abuse, previous instances of domestic violence at the home and the child usually will be 2 years old or younger. Last year, the exact situation played out in Calhoun County, when 2-year old Anya Dziura was killed by her mother's boyfriend, Stephen Young. Young pleaded no contest to aggravated manslaughter of a child, while Jessica Dziura, the girl's mother, was given a six-year sentence for child neglect. Reports and substantiated instances of child abuse in Bay County have increased during the past several years. In the last six months of 2015, the Department of Children and Families received 1,345 reports of child maltreatment, including neglect, physical and sexual abuse. Of those claims, 151 were substantiated with a serious finding from DCF. In the first six months of this year, there already have been 1,566 calls, and 172 serious findings. Allen, whose organization sees referrals from the six-county area of Circuit 14, saw just more than 1,100 children in 2014. Last year, 1,325 children were referred to them, and this year, they're on pace to break 1,500 cases. But, Allen said, it's not just about the numbers. "People look at those statistics and they think, 'Wow that's really tragic,' " she said. "When you put a face and a name and an experience to that ... there are some schools that don't even have that many children enrolled."  read more

August 15, 2016

JACKSON COUNTY, Fla. (WJHG/WECP) A Jackson County family's life was changed Saturday, thanks to the assistance of the community, who came together to build a ramp to help make life for a young boy and his family a little bit easier. Three-year-old Bryson Johnson has seen some hard times in his short life. At seven-months-old, he suffered disabling injuries at the hands of his mother’s paramour, that left him wheelchair bound for the rest of his life. Since then, this young boy has been surrounded by the love and support of his family, and now, the community. "This is a community project,” says Jackson County Sheriff’s Investigator Cheree Edwards. “It takes the deputies, it takes the people that are here working, it takes LuAnne, and I know that it is what is going to be a blessing to them." "As a family advocate, we're here just to make our families happy and do whatever it is they need," explains Family Advocate, LuAnne Dean, with the Gulf Coast Children’s Advocacy Center. “They want this baby safe. They want him to stay in a safe place, and now we are here to do whatever it takes.  read more

August 1, 2016

Please join us for our 6th Annual Stars & Guitars benefit concert sponsored by Eastern Shipbuilding Group! One of a kind show, all talent on the stage, singing your favorites in an acoustic setting. Hear the stories behind the music, and all to benefit our local children served by the Gulf Coast Children's Advocacy Center. Tickets on sale August 5th at for lodging and ticket packages at the following locations: Holiday Inn (Panama City), Hilton Garden Inn, Rodeway Inn. Tickets on sale August 12th for tickets only at: www.marinaciviccenter.com or at their box office location, 9 Harrison Avenue beginning at 9AM.  read more

April 22, 2016

Please join our agency in celebrating the Open House of the Gulf Coast Sexual Assault Center on Friday, April 22nd at 10AM. This program provides critical services for victims of sexual violence throughout the Fourteenth Judicial Circuit. Located at 310 E. 11th Street.  read more

March 22, 2016

Most child abuse stays secret. Here’s a way to help change that.  read more

March 21, 2016

Congratulations to all of our community's award recepients at tonight's National Association of Social Work- Emerald Coast Annual Dinner, including our own Board Member, Brandy Haimen, & Executive Director, Lori Allen  read more