CLEARFIELD – A new Child Advocacy Center will lessen the stress of children reporting abuse and assist law enforcement in prosecuting abusers.
On Tuesday Clearfield County District Attorney William A. Shaw Jr., and Josh Shapiro, chairman of the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency, announced the grand opening of the Clearfield County Child Advocacy Center.
According to Mary Tatum, CAC coordinator, the county saw a definite need for a center about three years ago.
Tatum said there have been a lot of abuse cases in the county and a multi-disciplinary investigative team was formed using representatives from the district attorney’s office, Children, Youth and Family Services, Victim Witness/Victim Advocacy, law enforcement, medical professionals, mental health professionals and forensic interviewers.
She said the CAC takes referrals two ways, either from the police or from CYS. The center will schedule an interview and debrief the family.
Tatum said the center has been operating for about a year, but Tuesday marked the official grand opening. She said the center conducts between 6-15 interviews a month.
“At the CAC, we’re able to get the children and the family the services and help they need,” Tatum said.
The center provides the ability to conduct a forensic interview with the victim in a safe, secure environment.
The victim speaks with a qualified interviewer, while being observed by the MDIT through closed-circuit monitoring. The victim only needs to experience one interview, instead of several interviews with different agencies.
The CAC in Clearfield County was made possible through a $200,000 grant provided by the PCCD. To date, the PCCD has provided more than $6.7 million to CAC’s throughout the state.
“Our goal is to provide a CAC within a one-hour drive from all victims in Pennsylvania,” Shapiro said. “We’re about 83 percent there.”
Shaw thanked all the people who worked so hard to create the CAC. He said it took about three years to make the center a reality. He thanked Cen-Clear Child Services for its work and dedication to get the center up and running.
Anyone with information about crimes in Clearfield County is encouraged to call Clearfield County Crime Stoppers at 1-800-376-4700.
