Published: April 18, 2008 05:35 pm            

Advocacy Center looks after abused, neglected children

From the time a child discloses abuse to the time a family is reunited, Garfield County Child Advocacy Center (GCCAC) provides services for both children and families on its campus at 10th and Broadway.

The organization offers forensic interviews, which give abused or neglected children the chance to relate their experience to a trained interviewer, called CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) services. The Child Advocacy Center also offers reunification visits for children and their parents, as well as presentations by CARE Team Education. The Multi-Disciplinary Child Abuse Response Team (MCART) for Garfield County, which is made up of law enforcement, child protective services workers and supervisors, health and mental health providers, meets weekly to review open cases and make recommendations for investigation, prosecution or treatment.

Carole Ward, executive director, said the primary focus of GCCAC, as with other child advocacy centers, is to provide a home-like place for children to be in after being abused or neglected.

“There’s a lot of tension concerning child abuse,” Ward said. “It’s designed to put people at ease.”

The organization is in the middle of remodeling their facilities, which include the “white house,” used for family reunification visits, the “yellow house,” used for forensic interviews, and the administrative building, which houses the offices of Ward and two other full-time staff members.

Previously, administrative offices were located in the yellow house.

“We were scattered, and communication was difficult,” Ward said. When forensic interviews took place, other activities had to stop.

Now, the administrative building’s interior has been renovated, with help coming primarily from members of Emmanuel Baptist Church, Ward said. The outside of the building will be stuccoed and decorated with special tiles designed by children.

The special tiles will be done by the children themselves, then will be fired and used along with the professional stucco work. The tiles are sold for $10 each and there is a special fund for children who cannot afford the $10 tile purchase. Waller Junior High School art instructor Pam Gilbreath will draw the child advocacy logo on one tile and will fire all of the tiles decorated by children.

Ward said they have received a CDBG grant, as well as funds from the Junior Welfare League, to help pay for the renovations.

In addition to remodeling their facilities, GCCAC has expanded its services into Blaine County, with MCART meetings held monthly and CASA volunteers working to help children in Blaine County.

“It’s really a good group,” Ward said of Blaine County volunteers.

Individuals interested in becoming a CASA can enroll in the next training class, which begins in June. To become a CASA, applications and interviews are conducted, as well as criminal and child abuse background checks. CASAs undergo 40 hours of training before they can be appointed a case by a judge.

“CASAs tell courts what they believe is best for the child,” Ward said. “The whole point of the volunteers is to give the judge more information in decision-making.”

Currently, there are at least 83 children with open cases in the county, with 78 volunteers actively working on the cases.

“What keeps the volunteers going, I think, is the sense of accomplishment,” Ward said. “They know they’re helping to make it safer for kids.”

To become a CASA, or for more information about GCCAC, call 242-1153, or go to www.garfieldcountycarecampus.org.