Services Provided

Child Friendly Facilities

Facilities to hold a coordinated investigation.

Forensic Interview

Interviews are conducted in a manner that is legally sound and of a neutral, fact finding nature.  All children are interviewed by a person trained in forensic interviews. Interviews are coordinated to avoid duplication.

Family Advocacy/Case Management

The Children’s Advocacy Center maintains contact with the family throughout the life of their case. We work cooperatively with agency service providers to make referrals based on the needs of the child and their family.  We track referrals and assist families in connecting with service providers to initiate additional support.  The Children’s Advocacy Center assists the child victim and their family to navigate the criminal justice system advocating for their concerns/needs with multidisciplinary team members/service providers, provides education on the investigative and court process, assists with resource attainment, and provides emotional support.  

Training

We train our team members from law enforcement; DCFS, State’s Attorney’s Office and other partners about child abuse and investigative techniques.  Training allows multidisciplinary team members to develop and maintain specialized skills needed to better serve child abuse survivors and their families.

Community Outreach

The Children’s Advocacy Center staff are available to provide presentations on topics related to the Children’s Advocacy Center concept and child abuse awareness.  These efforts increase the community’s awareness on the prevalence of child abuse as well as how to identify and report abuse.  Increased awareness and reporting leads to more timely and successful intervention.

Therapy

Therapy services are provided free of charge to everyone who undergoes a Forensic Interview and their immediate family members. We have a full-time staff therapist who provides these services at the center. She is trained in Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavior Therapy and Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing Therapy. Upon completion of therapy children are able to place their handprint on our new mural to signify moving forward in a positive light.

More information about Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavior Therapy

Problematic Sexual Behaviour (PSB)

We have a group for children ages 7 -12 exhibiting problematic sexual behaviors. Group is 17 weeks for the children and their caregiver(s). Throughout the 17 weeks parents will learn how to parent a child exhibiting these behaviors and children will learn boundaries, empathy and responsibility for their behavior.

The groups are led by our staff therapist and two other therapists we contract with. This program was developed to prevent future sexual abuse. We are optimistic that this group will prevent these children's behaviors from escalating. We are working with the local school districts, Law Enforcement, the Department of Children and Family Services and other community agencies for referrals.

Sexual Development and Behavior in Children

Promoting Healthy Sexual Development and Sexuality

Understanding and Coping with Sexual Behavior Problems in Children

The Tree of Light dedicated to our child victims. Mural painted by Heidi Swallows and Katie Kilbride.