The Russell County Child Advocacy Center was organized in 1997 to provide a neutral, child friendly facility for abused children to meet with professionals who are responsible for and dedicated to investigating and easing the trauma of abuse. The purpose of the Russell County CAC is three fold. Our goals are to coordinate forensic interviews of child abuse victims, to promote a multidisciplinary team approach to child abuse investigations, and to provide quality counseling, advocacy, referral, and support services to child abuse victims, adult survivors, and their families at no cost.
The sad reality is that children are abused in Phenix City and Russell County. In the 2008-2009 fiscal year, there were 142 forensic interviews conducted of children with allegations of abuse. Before the Russell County CAC was organized, abused children went to at least five different agencies and repeated the story of their abuse ten-fifteen times to various professionals, being traumatized by the very system that was designed to help them. Today, abuse has come to the Russell County Child Advocacy Center. Abused children tell their story one time, in one place, to one person. The information is then shared with the investigative professionals associated with the case. This approach lessens the child's trauma and enhances the coordinated team approach to investigate child abuse cases.
The Russell County Child Advocacy Center was organized in 1997 to provide a neutral, child friendly facility for abused children to meet with professionals who are responsible for and dedicated to investigating and easing the trauma of abuse. The purpose of the Russell County CAC is three fold. Our goals are to coordinate forensic interviews of child abuse victims, to promote a multidisciplinary team approach to child abuse investigations, and to provide quality counseling, advocacy, referral, and support services to child abuse victims, adult survivors, and their families at no cost.
