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 600 established and developing Children's Advocacy Centers in the United States and 13 in Virginia, including Foothills Child Advocacy Center.

 

History of Foothills CAC:

:: 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, 2005 a business plan was developed by UVA Darden school of Business and the recommendation was to "pilot" a CAC as a first step in establishing a free-standing CAC. The project officially on February 1, 2006 with the hiring of a Project Coordinator.

:: April 12, 2006 Foothills CAC conducts first forensic interview of child using MDT approach.

:: May 17th, Case Manager starts work providing crisis intervention and support services for children and families as well as referrals for services such as medical and mental health.

:: June 7, 2006 Foothills becomes Associate Member of the National Children's Alliance. Thereby opening up continued funding opportunities, ongoing trainings and professional development and is an important step towards becoming a full member.

:: Our goal is to have our own home, where child victims and their families can participate in an investigation and receive services while feeling safe and respected.