Helping children find their courageous spirit within to begin healing.
The mission of Emmy’s House Children’s Advocacy Center is to reduce the devastating long-term effects that all forms of child abuse has on children, their families, and society through immediate, coordinated, child-focused services, education, and advocacy.
What is a Children’s Advocacy Center?
To understand what a Children's Advocacy Center (CAC) is, you must understand what children face without one. Without a CAC, the child may end up having to tell the worst story of his or her life over and over again, to doctors, cops, lawyers, therapists, investigators, judges, and others. They may have to talk about that traumatic experience in a police station where they think they might be in trouble, or may be asked the wrong questions by a well-meaning teacher or other adult that could hurt the case against the abuser.
When police or child protective services believe a child is being abused, the child is brought to the CAC—a safe, child-focused environment—by a caregiver or other “safe” adult. At the CAC, the child tells their story once to a trained interviewer who knows the right questions to ask in a way that does not retraumatize the child. Then, a team that includes medical professionals, law enforcement, mental health, prosecution, child protective services, victim advocacy, and other professionals make decisions together about how to help the child based on the interview. CACs offer therapy and medical exams, plus courtroom preparation, victim advocacy, case management, and other services. This is called the multidisciplinary team (MDT) response and is a core part of the work of CACs.
On-site services include:
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· Support from a Child/Family Advocate from beginning of case until closed
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· Forensic Interview
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· Head-to-toe medical exam
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· Individual and Family Counseling
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· Support group for non-offending caregivers
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· Minimum of monthly MDT (Multi-Disciplinary Team) Review Meetings to ensure all services are being addressed and provided in a timely manner.
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Staff will also provide:
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· Community Outreach and Education for schools, churches, civic groups, etc.
Brochure available to print!
What is Child Sexual Abuse?
Child sexual abuse is a form of child abuse that includes sexual activity with a minor. A child cannot consent to any form of sexual activity, period. When a perpetrator engages with a child this way, they are committing a crime that can have lasting effects on the victim for years. Child sexual abuse does not need to include physical contact between a perpetrator and a child. Some forms of child sexual abuse include:
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· Exhibitionism, or exposing oneself to a minor
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· Fondling
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· Intercourse
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· Masturbation in the presence of a minor or forcing the minor to masturbate
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· Obscene phone calls, text messages, or digital interaction
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· Producing, owning, or sharing pornographic images or movies of children
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· Sex of any kind with a minor, including vaginal, oral, or anal
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· Sex trafficking
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· Any other sexual conduct that is harmful to a child's mental, emotional, or physical welfare
