Children's Advocacy Center
Rachael DeWitt, Executive Director of Ottawa County Children's Advocacy Center (CAC), was our speaker today. The CAC works with the 10% of children who are sexually abused. They provide prevention and intervention services for the county. The center was started in 1997 to centralize services to victims and caregivers of abuse. The center coordinates law enforcement, judicial, and counseling teams. Their education services reach 19,000 children and 1500 adults. They teach in 97% of the schools in the county. The center is funded half by government money and half by private donations.Prevention
- Learn the facts. Most abusers are people known to or are family members of their victims.
- Minimize opportunity. Never allow a child to be in an area where they can't be seen.
- Talk about it. Kids need to have the vocabulary to describe events. The center makes a distinction between a secret and a surprise. A surprise is something you don't tell about for a while, like a birthday present.
- Recognize the signs.
- React responsibly. If a child confides in you remain calm, listen carefully to what they report, and ask open-ended questions.
Intervention
The center provides combined services to minimize the trauma a child experiences when telling their story. In the last 2 weeks, they handled 18 reports of abuse. They have special facilities that allow interviews to be conducted so that all parties involved (police, child protective services, counselors) can have the information they need all at once. Children will often express things using art, so art areas are available. CAC has about 200 counseling sessions a month for victims. They also offer financial and other support. This is particularly important if the abuser provides the family income.