New Jersey Children’s Alliance Announces Two New Child Advocacy Center Facilities
Two county-based Child Advocacy Centers open the doors to their new facilities, boosting progress towards the goal of access to a Child Advocacy Center for all child abuse victims in each of the 21 NJ counties.
Iselin, NJ, Nov 2, 2018 Two counties – Gloucester and Camden – have opened the doors to their new free-standing Child Advocacy Center facilities, giving child abuse victims in these counties access to a child-friendly place where communities can respond to allegations of child abuse in ways that are effective and efficient, and put the needs of child victims of abuse first. At a CAC, a child tells their story once to a trained interviewer who knows the right questions to ask in a way that does not re-traumatize the child. Then, a multidisciplinary team works to provide healing and justice for the child. CACs, either directly or through agreements, offer families mental health treatment, medical exams, courtroom preparation, victim advocacy, case management and more. Many CACs also conduct community outreach and child abuse prevention initiatives.
New Jersey Children’s Alliance (NJCA) is the statewide nonprofit that promotes the development, growth and continuation of Children’s Advocacy Centers (CACs) and related initiatives throughout the state of New Jersey, through training, technical assistance, communications, mentoring, and advocacy of public policy. Their main strategic objective at this time is to achieve 21 by (20)21; that is, to ensure that child abuse victims in all 21 NJ counties have access to a county-based Child Advocacy Center by 2021.
Nine counties currently have Child Advocacy Centers that meet all the requirements for accreditation by the National Children’s Alliance (NCA). Camden County CAC and Gloucester County CAC are next to attain accreditation status. Several other counties are in the process of working towards the accreditation standards and preparing their applications.
“21 by (20)21” is a stated priority for several key policy makers, and is recognized in child protection and services fields as an important part of intervention and prevention of child abuse throughout the state.
If you would like more information about this topic, please call Nydia Monagas, Executive Director of NJCA, at 732-596-7830, or email nydia@njcainc.org.