History of Child Advocacy Centers
In 1985, Congressman Robert E. "Bud" Cramer (AL), who was then a District Attorney, organized an effort to create a better system to help abused children. He was frustrated as a prosecutor, because he was having difficulty prosecuting child abuse cases and getting guilty verdicts or pleas for offenders of crimes against children. He noticed the social service and the criminal justice systems were not working together in an effective manner and this created the common problem of adding to children's emotional distress, and created a segmented, repetitious, and often frightening experience for the child victims.
He pulled together law enforcement, criminal justice, child protective service, medical and mental health workers into one coordinated team that would serve child victims of crime in a respectful way. Thirty years ago, this was a revolutionary idea.
Today, many states have adopted laws requiring the use of a multi-disciplinary approach to child abuse cases, including Virginia. There are currently nearly 800 established and developing Children's Advocacy Centers in the United States and 18 in Virginia, including Foothills Child Advocacy Center.
He pulled together law enforcement, criminal justice, child protective service, medical and mental health workers into one coordinated team that would serve child victims of crime in a respectful way. Thirty years ago, this was a revolutionary idea.
Today, many states have adopted laws requiring the use of a multi-disciplinary approach to child abuse cases, including Virginia. There are currently nearly 800 established and developing Children's Advocacy Centers in the United States and 18 in Virginia, including Foothills Child Advocacy Center.
History of Foothills Child Advocacy Center
The Charlottesville/Albemarle Commission on Children and Families created a workgroup in 2002 that was charged with identifying ways to reduce the impact of abuse/neglect on children.
In June of 2005, a business plan was developed by UVA Darden school of Business and the recommendation was to "pilot" a child advocacy center as a first step in establishing a free-standing CAC. The project officially started on February 1, 2006 with the hiring of a Project Coordinator.
In 2006, a Board of Directors was formed and Foothills was incorporated.
On April 12, 2006, Foothills CAC conducted their first forensic interview of a child using the multidisciplinary team approach.
On June 7, 2006, Foothills became an associate member of the National Children's Alliance and in June 2007, Foothills received its 501(C)(3) nonprofit status.
On October 15, 2011, Foothills became a fully accredited member of the National Children’s Alliance.
In June of 2005, a business plan was developed by UVA Darden school of Business and the recommendation was to "pilot" a child advocacy center as a first step in establishing a free-standing CAC. The project officially started on February 1, 2006 with the hiring of a Project Coordinator.
In 2006, a Board of Directors was formed and Foothills was incorporated.
On April 12, 2006, Foothills CAC conducted their first forensic interview of a child using the multidisciplinary team approach.
On June 7, 2006, Foothills became an associate member of the National Children's Alliance and in June 2007, Foothills received its 501(C)(3) nonprofit status.
On October 15, 2011, Foothills became a fully accredited member of the National Children’s Alliance.
