CLEARFIELD – Dr. Mary Tatum announces that the Child Advocacy Center of Clearfield County (CAC-CC) has received a heartwarming donation of pajamas and sleepwear from the staff of SCI Houtzdale.
This generous act has provided over 100 items, including socks, underpants, pajamas and sleepwear, for the children who visit the CAC-CC. The Pajama Drive, coordinated by SCI Houtzdale’s Empowerment Committee, has truly made a difference in these children’s lives.
Additionally, Dr. Tatum spoke with inmates and staff at an event for Crime Victims Week coordinated by the Journey for Change organization at SCI Houtzdale.
During this time, Dr. Tatum spoke about how child abuse and witnessing crimes in childhood can impact each child. She talked about ways that the CAC-CC and Clearfield County Multidisciplinary Investigative Team (MDIT) work to help mitigate these traumas, including referring children to Evidence-Based Treatment modalities, Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavior Therapy (TF-CBT) and Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR).
Dr. Tatum spoke about a new initiative that will be happening at the CAC-CC. The CAC-CC will begin to provide a new Evidence-Based Treatment, Child Family Traumatic Stress Intervention (CFTSI) from Yale University.
When this model is implemented and completed, it decreases a youth’s chance of developing full PTSD symptoms by 60 percent.
While at SCI Houtzdale, the inmates in the Journey for Change Program presented Dr. Tatum with a $1,000 donation for the CAC-CC.
Dr. Tatum was also presented with four paintings of Kirby for the CAC-CC. These paintings were done by inmates at the prison and will be displayed throughout the CAC-CC.
Kirby, the CAC-CC’s Facility Dog, accompanied Dr. Tatum to SCI Houtzdale and interacted with the inmate handlers and pups currently involved in the SCI Houtzdale’s Relying Upon Furry Friends (RUFF) program.
Kirby was trained at SCI Houtzdale through the RUFF program, and is always excited to visit the institution, the handlers and future service dogs.
The Clearfield County MDIT is comprised of team members from The Clearfield County District Attorney’s Office, Clearfield County Children, Youth, and Family Services, Pennsylvania State Police Clearfield, DuBois, and Punxsutawney, Bigler Township Police Department, Clearfield Regional Police Department, Curwensville Police Department, DuBois City Police Department, Sandy Township Police Department, Community Action Inc’s the Crossroads Project, Passages, Inc., Clearfield County Victim Witness, CenClear, John Bacher CRNP, and the CAC-CC.
With the MDIT response, Clearfield County can ensure children have access to a trauma-informed CAC and can provide the best possible services to children in Clearfield County.
The CAC-CC is an Accredited CAC with the National Children’s Alliance (NCA), the accrediting body for CACs nationally.
“It is through our community and MDIT that the children and families that we serve at our CAC receive the best possible services,” Dr. Tatum stated.
If you want to learn more about the CAC-CC, visit its “Child Advocacy Center of Clearfield County” Facebook page or e-mail cac@cenclear.org.
If you believe a child is being abused, call Childline at 1-800-932-0313 or your local police department.
