The five children's advocacy centers under the Childhelp® umbrella utilize a highly effective, one-stop approach to the investigation of child abuse. Role models of community collaboration, the centers provide a child-friendly facility at which members of the investigative team interview, medically examine, provide and refer treatment for abused children while pursuing the prosecution of offenders.
The multidisciplinary team typically includes professionals in the areas of law enforcement, child protective services, medicine, mental health and prosecution.
Advocacy Center Advantages
- Reduces the number of interviews a child victim must endure, which reduces the trauma to the child
- Creates a comfortable, child-friendly environment for the investigation as opposed to the environment typically experienced in a hospital emergency room or police station
- Greatly reduces the time victims and their families spend assisting with the investigation because all services are provided at one location. What once took weeks can often be achieved in hours.
- Reduces police and Child Protective Services investigative time
- Enables quicker prosecutions through more efficient case processing
- Increases communication between agencies for an improved understanding of their roles and case needs
Center Locations
- Childhelp® Children's Center of Arizona—Phoenix, Arizona
- The Childhelp® Children's Mobile Advocacy Center of Northern Arizona
- Childhelp® Children's Center of Virginia—Fairfax, Virginia
- Childhelp® Children's Advocacy Center of Knox County—Knoxville, Tennessee
- Childhelp® River Bridge Center of Colorado—Glenwood Springs, Colorado
