About Us
To view our 2010 Annual Review, click here. DONATE NOW
Our Goals
To reduce the trauma suffered by the child victim during the investigation and prosecution; - To strengthen families to provide safe homes; and
- To increase the successful prosecution of their abuser.
Services We Provide
- Forensic interviews for child victims of abuse
- Medical evaluations for child victims of abuse
- Immediate and ongoing advocacy and support for the child victim and non-offending family members
- Mental health support services at no cost to the victim or victim’s family through the University of Nebraska Project SAFE
- Court School for child victims of abuse who will be testifying in a criminal case
- Case coordination through active case review with a multi-disciplinary team
- Professional training and education in the community
Benefits and Results
Child Focused
Telling about the abuse is difficult. Unnecessarily telling about the abuse over and over, amounts to re-victimization of the child. - Multiple interviews may also result in inconsistent reports and compromise the criminal prosecution.
- The Child Advocacy Center provides trained forensic interviewers who understand the special needs of child victims.
- The forensic interviewer is able to meet the information needs of multiple agencies and reduce the number of times the child victim has to tell about their abuse.
- The heart of the Child Advocacy Center is the multi-disciplinary team consisting of law enforcement officers, protection and safety workers, prosecutors, physicians and therapists who come together under one roof.
- Our advocates are on call 24/7 and provide immediate and ongoing support to the child and non-offending family members in navigating a complicated criminal justice system.
- The University of Nebraska Project SAFE is on-site and able to offer individual and group counseling to the child victim and non-offending family members at no cost.
- Through a private/public partnership, the Child Advocacy Center is able to maximize resources through a blending of funding and services.
- A research study conducted by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention found by providing a coordinated response and reducing duplication of services, Child Advocacy Centers are able to reduce the cost of traditional investigations by more than $1,000 per case.
Click here for a list of other Child Advocacy Centers in Nebraska.
IMPORTANT
Forensic Interviews and Medical Evaluations at the Child Advocacy Center are conducted only upon referral from law enforcement or Health and Human Services.