Children's Advocacy Centers

A Children's Advocacy Center (CAC) is a child-focused, community-oriented, facility-based program in which representatives from many disciplines meet to discuss and make decisions about investigation, treatment and prosecution of child abuse cases.  They also work to prevent further victimization of children.

This multidisciplinary team approach brings together under one umbrella all the professionals and agencies needed to offer comprehensive services: law enforcement, child protective services, prosecution, mental health, victim advocacy, and the medical community.  CACs are programs designed by professionals and volunteers to meet the unique needs of its community.

Communities that have developed a CAC experience many benefits: more immediate follow-up to child abuse reports; more efficient medical and mental health referrals; reduction in the number of child victim interviews; increased successful prosecution, and consistent support for child victims and supportive adults.

This comprehensive approach, with follow-up services provided by the CAC, ensures that children receive child-focused services in a child-friendly environment - one in which the child's needs come first!

National Children's Alliance members: http://www.nca-online.org/states/colorado.html