ROCK ISLAND COUNTY, Ill — The Rock Island County Children’s Advocacy Center (CAC) now has more office space thanks to a grant from the City of Moline.
According to the center's website, "the mission of the Rock Island County Children’s Advocacy Center is to reduce trauma to children utilizing multi-disciplinary team investigations of abuse." What this means is that children under 18 years old will be referred to the center by law enforcement or the Department of Children and Family Services when suspected abuse is being investigated. The child only has to tell their story once to a trained CAC interviewer, reducing the number of times they have to relive a traumatic experience.
"Without CACs, children would have to speak to 10-12 different people during an investigation of child abuse, repeating their story many times," the website reads. "Since the creation of CACs, children are able to visit the CAC and talk to one person while the MDT (multidisciplinary team) views the interview & coordinates the investigation."
The City of Moline's grant funding gave the center the ability to remodel its basement area and expand its therapy services.
"When a new family comes in here because of an investigation, it's very stressful for them," Patty Jo Dooley, a forensic investigator at the center, said. "And if families are bumping into each other at that really emotional time, sometimes we just need to be able to spread people out."
The center conducted 265 interviews last year and provided follow-up services for 65% of those families seen at the center.
If you would like to help the center's mission, you can donate any items on their wish list, which can be found here.
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