The Importance of Child Advocacy Centers

When a child has been abused, there are many aspects of healing that need to be addressed. Child Advocacy Centers (CACs) ensure that children who have been abused and their guardians don't have to pursue many different services through a variety of avenues. Instead, they can come to a one-stop center to have needs addressed by a team of individuals, including from the disciplines of:

• Law enforcement
• Child protective services
• Medical and mental health professionals 
• Legal assistance

Childhelp Centers, for example, are nationally recognized and explain that they "provide a child-friendly facility where members of the multi-disciplinary team (MDT) interview victims, conduct medical exams, provide specialized mental health treatment, and provide family members with referrals to other community resources while law enforcement agencies and county attorneys pursue the prosecution of offenders."

As a caring adult, it is important to have knowledge of these types of Child Advocacy Centers in the event you want to share this information with others. There are currently centers sprinkled throughout the country. 

This article is not part of your continuing training. To access your required bulletins you must log in using the form in the upper left-hand corner of the screen. Then go to the TRAINING tab.