Child Advocacy Center scheduled to open at end of month
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Close your eyes.
Imagine that you're 10 years old, and I'm your trusted parent.
Now, tell me about your last sexual experience. In detail.
Now, let's call Children and Youth, and you can repeat it for them.
Then the police.
And the District Attorney.
And, if you're really unlucky, a jury, and a courtroom full of people, and even the person who abused you.
That's what District Attorney Rob Greene said people don't realize about children who report abuse. The trauma of the experience -- regardless of what type of abuse they're reporting -- is compounded every time the child is asked to repeat the story. It's commonly accepted among trauma-informed professionals that talking about trauma in this way is traumatizing in and of itself.
Beyond the need to repeatedly face an event that traumatized them, Greene said even adults who are asked to tell a relatively-detailed story over and over again are not going to tell the same story word for word each time.
A child whose story has changed, even in the most nuanced of details, runs the risk of having a defense attorney use those discrepancies to create a shadow of a doubt that means the difference in justice being served.
Even when "they're not changing the big details. They're not lying," said Greene; forgetting or misspeaking during repeated interviews can open up the opportunity for defense to challenge the entirety of the account.
At the height of the Sandusky ordeal in State College, the idea of Child Advocacy Centers became well known, said Greene. Child Advocacy Centers (CACs) are neutral, standalone agencies that operate as a single point of contact for children who've reported abuse and the often numerous agencies that need to become involved with that child, and his or her family, throughout the course of their case being investigated and prosecuted.
Rather than have to repeat the forensic interview process, which can be exhaustive and additionally stressful for a child reporting abuse, a CAC isn't affiliated with CYS, the District Attorney, law enforcement, the school district, or any other agency. All those agencies can trust that the single forensic interview conducted at a CAC is adequate for all of their purposes.
In addition to limiting the number of times a child needs to be formally interviewed, Greene said the CAC as an entity is by its very nature free from the negative associations that children and families may have of the agencies that will become involved over the course of a case.
"They know CYS as the people that take their kids away. They know the police as the bad guys. The DA sends people to jail. Teachers discipline them," said Greene.
The CAC is none of those agencies. Instead, according to Greene, the CAC represents a place where "professionals from multiple disciplines within the community coordinate investigations, interventions, prosecutions, and provide specialized treatment while reducing trauma and promote healing," according to the agency's Facebook page.
"It's an autonomous, standalone agency," explained Greene.
The CAC has been slowly coming to fruition and now it's nearly time to open the doors.
City of Warren Detective Anthony Chimenti has been trained in forensic interviewing and sits on the CAC's board of directors alongside Greene and representatives from CYS, A Safe Place, the YMCA, the school district, and other agencies involved in child welfare in the county. Chimenti said that at this point only two things are needed to see the CAC be successful in its mission of protecting and serving the children of Warren County: A director; and the money to support the agency's day-to-day operations.
"We anticipate that it's going to cost around $50,000 a year" to run the CAC, said Greene, adding that the agency is intended to cost the community nothing more than what they're willing to donate to make it successful.
It's not, said Greene, a government agency, and is therefore not funded by tax dollars.
The issue of a director is one that the board of directors is actively working toward resolving. The director, said Greene, would be the lead forensic interviewer. While Greene said that a four-year degree is preferred, what's most important for a potential candidate to have is a passion for children's welfare and to be well-rounded.
"Able to interact well with children, able to be trained in forensic interviewing," Greene said, as well as able to take on the overall running of the CAC. That includes answering phones, looking for grants, coordinating schedules and generally keeping things running smoothly.
The director is a "jack of all trades, a captain of the ship," said Greene.
While backup interviewers would be available through CYS, Greene said the idea is to make one person the point of contact for all interviews. Training in forensic interviewing would be provided, said Greene, through one of two national training programs in either Alabama or Minnesota. Obviously, the ability to relate to and interact well with children is an important quality.
Anyone interested in learning more about the position, Greene said, can contact him by emailing rgreene@warren-county.net. The board will be reviewing applicants in the coming weeks.
To learn more about the CAC, an informational presentation has been scheduled for Wednesday, Aug. 2, from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Conewango Club in Warren. An optional lunch is available for $10 and the presentation will begin at 12:15 p.m. Anyone interested in attending is encouraged to RSVP by Friday, July 28, by emailing rotaryclubofwarren@gmail.com or on Facebook at RotaryClubofWarren.