OUR MISSION
"To foster healing and reduce the trauma of child abuse and neglect by providing prevention, intervention and advocacy services to children and family members."
OUR VISION
"Working together with communities to ensure all children and families have access to essential services and thrive in an environment that is abuse and neglect free."
Family Advocacy
We Support Children & Families
Family advocates are here to help families overcome the trauma of abuse by walking alongside them from the time of referral through the healing process. Before the forensic interview: family advocates connect with non-offending family members and caregivers, answering questions about the interview process, equipping caregivers with tools to support their child before the interview. On the day of the interview: family advocates familiarize families with the center by actively engaging with the child and providing emotional support. This includes concrete resources, and education that give hope to children and families experiencing trauma. After the interview: family advocates give continued support with regular follow up check ins. The family advocate is a direct line of support, bridging communication between families and multidisciplinary team members involved in the investigation, as well as mental health, medical, and court professionals.
Counseling Services
We Foster Healing & Promote Growth
Individual, family, and group therapy is offered for both children and their non-offending family members so they may process their experiences and begin healing from the abuse they have endured. Treatment is individualized to meet emotional, psychological, and developmental needs. Our masters level clinicians are trained and experienced in cutting-edge practices, such as Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT), Sensory Motor Arousal and Regulation Treatment (SMART), and Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR). TF-CBT is a joint child/parent psychotherapy approach for children who are experiencing emotional and behavioral difficulties related to traumatic life events. EMDR is a non-hypnosis psychotherapy. Therapist's guide clients in concentrating on a troubling memory or emotion while moving their eyes rapidly back and forth(typically by following the therapist’s fingers). This rapid eye movement speeds the client’s movement through the healing process. EMDR is used to treat anxiety, depression, guilt, anger, and post-traumatic reactions. It can also be used to enhance emotional resources such as confidence and self-esteem.
SMART is an innovative mental health therapy for complexly traumatized children for whom regulation of emotions and behavior is a primary problem. SMART utilizes an array of therapeutic equipment such as weighted blankets, balance beams, fitness balls, and shared play to support children’s natural ways of regulating their bodies and emotions, facilitate attachment-building and allow for embodied processing of traumatic experiences.
Forensic Interviews
We Listen to Kids & Teens
We provide a child-friendly, safe, and private place for children to tell their stories. Our forensic interviewers are trained to ask children a series of unbiased, non-suggestive questions to elicit information in an age and developmentally appropriate manner. Children are not pressured to disclose details of abuse they are not ready to talk about. They are provided time and patience while at the center. To minimize added trauma, team members (the multidisciplinary team), including Law Enforcement, Children’s Protective Services, and the Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, observe these interviews through a recording system in a separate room. When children are interviewed at the center, they only have to convey information to one adult. This process reduces the number of times a child has to be interviewed and prevents them from being interviewed in a police department or squad car where a child may feel intimidated and scared. The child never sees Law Enforcement or Children’s Protective Services unless the child asks to see them, which would occur following the interview.
Prevention & Outreach
We Educate our Communities
We’re dedicated to protecting children, breaking the cycle of abuse, and promoting a safe environment. Through this evidence-informed program, we intervene early, mitigate long-term negative effects of child abuse, and strengthen families. From kindergarten to 4th grade, our age-appropriate segments empower students with knowledge about their rights, types of touch, identifying Safe Adults, and when/how to seek help. We provide comprehensive resources for educators, while students take home a Kids Have Rights brochure for continued discussions. Join us in creating a safer environment, supporting families, and fostering a society that values children’s safety and well-being.
Medical Services
We Care for Kids & Teens
Children often need reassurance that they are physically okay after physical or sexual abuse has occurred. Our trauma trained pediatrician assesses the overall health and safety of child victims in addition to providing the appropriate treatment related to the abuse. This non-invasive medical evaluation also provides children and their caregivers the opportunity to ask questions about their bodies.
Forensic Nurse Examiner (FNE) exams are available for all victims of assault. Sexual assault exams are performed when the assault has occurred within the last 120 hours (5 days). Exams for victims of domestic violence, interpersonal violence and/or strangulation are available anytime after the assault. Our specially trained forensic nurses are available to provide 100% free exams to patients of all ages 24/7, 365 days a year. The patient receives a complete medical exam by a specially trained FNE including, but not limited to, assessing for injuries using specialized equipment, providing prophylactic STI, HIV and pregnancy medication, and collecting evidence for law enforcement. At our private facility, located within the NMCAC, the patient receives one on one, private, confidential and trauma informed care with a nurse and an advocate. The patient can make an informed decision on what portions of the exam they wish to consent to. This includes reporting the assault to Law Enforcement as long as the victim is over the age of 13.
Therapeutic services are offered for free to any victim of an assault and their caregivers. Individualized treatment plans are created jointly with a licensed clinician to assist in the healing process. Therapeutic interventions include Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT), and Eye Movement Rapid Desensitization (EMDR), Internal Family Systems (IFS) and Expressive Arts.
