How We Help - How the Children’s Advocacy Center Works (pdf)
Jessie’s Place is a Children’s Advocacy Center designed to be warm and welcoming, so that child victims of abuse and neglect have a safe haven to tell their story and begin the road to recovery. By coordinating investigative efforts and support services – in one location, our child-friendly location – we spare children and families the extraneous trauma that often results from participating in multiple interviews with different adults at different locations. Our coordinated response minimizes the trauma and intimidation children experience thereby improving children’s recovery outcomes and reducing the likelihood of factual error.
How We Help The Community
Studies of communities that utilize Child Advocacy Centers in child maltreatment investigations versus those that do not found that CACs typically save communities approximately $1,000 per investigation. Results from that study show that traditional investigations were 36% more expensive than CAC investigations. The average per-case cost:
- CAC investigation - $2,902
- Non-CAC investigation - $3,949
Services Include:
- Utilization of video and audio recording technology during fact gathering DCF and law enforcement interviews, therefore greatly reducing the number of interviews required for case investigation and prosecution.
- Warm, comfortable and state-of-the-art medical examination rooms.
- Medical Diagnosis, Evaluation and Nursing Assessment provided by the University of Florida Child Protection Team – noted field experts.
- Evidence-based, trauma-focused pscyotherapy to help child victims overcome psychological and emotional trauma.
- Therapeutic services and victim advocacy for children and non-offending caregivers.
- Referrals to partner agencies for long-term counseling needs.
Resources
www.onewithcourage.org 
www.nationalchildrensalliance.org
Case Studies
Maria’s Story (pdf) The Need (pdf) The Plan (pdf) The Benefit (pdf)
