The Cumberland Valley Children’s Advocacy Center (CVCAC) is a nonprofit organization striving everyday to help reduce the trauma experienced by child victims of sexual, physical abuse and children who have witnessed violent crimes. The CVCAC provides services by coordinating the efforts by using a multidisciplinary team approach to the investigation, prosecution and treatment of child abuse cases across the following eight southeast Kentucky counties: Laurel, Knox, Bell, Whitley, Clay, Harlan, Jackson, and Rockcastle.
All services are provided at no cost to children and their non-offending caregivers.
The cornerstone of the Center is the multidisciplinary team. These teams are made up of the core agencies that respond when a child discloses abuse. The team consist of law enforcement investigators, a child protection worker from the Health and Families Services Cabinet, a Commonwealth and/or County Attorney, a physician, a mental health professional, the staff of the Center and victim advocates. The Center’s role is to assist in the coordination of services in a centralized, child-friendly location.
Multidisciplinary Teams are defined in KRS 431.600(1) as:
Each investigation of reported or suspected sexual abuse of a child shall be conducted by a specialized multidisciplinary team composed, at a minimum, of law enforcement officers and social workers from the Cabinet for Health and Family Services. Cabinet for Health and Family Services social workers shall be available to assist in all investigations under this section but shall be lead investigators only in those cases of reported or suspected sexual abuse of a child in which a person exercising custodial control or supervision, as defined in KRS 600.020 is the alleged of suspected perpetrator of the abuse.
After a disclosure of sexual abuse by a child, the family is forced to deal with many stressful issues. Advocates at the Center are available to aid the family during this time. Advocates will provide support, information, education, crisis counseling and assistance with completing Crime Victim Compensation applications.
Medical examinations are conducted for children who have made allegations of sexual abuse when recommended by and coordinated with the investigating agencies. The medical exam is important to ensure a child is healthy and without injury. In addition, the information gathered in the exam process can be used in the criminal investigation.
Advocates assist the child and his/her non-offending caregivers to ensure they are adequately prepared for the legal and court processes following a disclosure of abuse. Some centers provide this service directly to children and families and/or work closely with the prosecution based victim advocates to ensure the needs of child victims and families are considered throughout the prosecution process.
CVCAC is dedicated to providing support and training to meet the needs of staff, professionals, and the general public on topics related to child abuse. CAC’s recognize that education of individuals, professionals, and communities is critical in creating cultural changes to reduce the incidence and impact of child abuse. Each center varies in the training services and resources offered, so please contact us for more information and to find out what is available.
Professional counseling may be necessary to the child’s recovery process. CVCAC has a trained therapist on-site to ensure children and families receive the services they need at the earliest opportunity to further the healing process.
The purpose of forensic interviews is to obtain the most accurate and complete information as possible from an alleged victim to assess if abuse has occurred. CVCAC provides the technology for the investigative team to participate in the interview through closed circuit television and wireless audio equipment.
The interview is recorded, thus reducing the number of times the child must be interviewed. Forensic Interviewers are specially trained to talk and interact with children while assessing their capabilities and gathering the legally sound facts regarding abuse allegations. The information gathered during the forensic interview aids with criminal and child welfare investigations.
CVCAC is dedicated to providing support and training to meet the needs of staff, professionals, and our communities on topics related to child abuse. We recognize that education of individuals, professionals, and communities is critical in creating cultural changes to reduce the incidence and impact of child abuse.
