– Our Services –

Providing support to those in need.

The North Central Missouri Children’s Advocacy Center provides professional and comprehensive forensic interviews of child abuse allegations. The goal is to reduce the trauma to the child by minimizing the number of interviews for evidence collection. We do this through a multidisciplinary team approach, including coordination with:

• Local prosecution
• Law enforcement
• Forensic medical evaluators
• Child protection
• Case management
• Advocacy
• Mental health linkages

Child appropriate/child friendly facility

• A multidisciplinary team
• Organizational capacity
• Cultural competency and diversity
• Medical intervention
• Forensic interviews
• Therapeutic intervention
• Victim support and advocacy
• Case review, tracking and high standards of care

Forensic Interviewing

Our agency offers a comfortable and child-friendly setting for these interviews to take place. A forensic interview room with an observation room provides “state of the art” video and audio recording of the child’s testimony, with minimal intrusion on the child. A child forensic interview specialist conducts the interview, with special attention paid to providing a calming, developmentally sensitive, neutral, and safe environment for the child.

Members of the team observe the interview via closed circuit television and communicate with the interviewer before and during the interview process. This approach allows each agency to realize their respective goals yet minimizes the number of times the child must be interviewed. Recording the interview reduces inconsistent statements and often leads to case settlement which also reduces trauma to children. Research has validated the long-held belief that when interactions with children are age-appropriate and provided in a supportive manner, children are more likely to provide accurate and truthful information to investigators, clinicians and other professionals.  

Additionally, a higher rate of convictions of perpetrators is realized due to thorough and compelling interviews, less chance of “recantation” by the child (since the interview has been recorded), and less chance of a child having to testify in court.

Advocacy

The CAC’s victim advocates meet with children and non-offending family members to provide resources and referrals for counseling while at the CAC.  Advocates continue to assist children and families in the weeks and months after they visit the Center.  Whether it’s locating additional resources (food, clothing, mental health services, etc.) or preparing victims for a trial in court, advocates are a pillar of support for families during an already difficult time.  

Trauma Focused Therapy

Trauma Focused Therapy is our mental health services department where children and their families may seek treatment after visiting our center for forensic interviews. Our therapist can conduct diagnostic assessments, risk assessments, and needs assessments with the children to determine what support and resources they will be connected to, to advocate for the family’s long-term healing. Our therapist also provides treatment for children who experience issues such as depression, anxiety, aggression, post-traumatic stress disorder, problematic sexual behavior, suicidality, and more due to their trauma. Some options for therapy at our center include trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy (TF-CBT), play therapy, or Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR). Early intervention with therapy can be an important and necessary tool to help children overcome the impacts of complex trauma by teaching them healthy coping skills, processing memories, improving self-esteem, developing safety plans, and exploring their goals for the future. This treatment program will allow children to begin their healing journey as early as a week after their forensic interview, which will minimize their risk of developing long-term trauma-related mental health issues.