ABOUT US
Southwest Mississippi Children's Advocacy Center (SWMSCAC) is a non-profit agency established in 1999 and is an accredited member of the National Children's Alliance.
As an accredited member, we work collaboratively with members of our multidisciplinary teams to streamline the process of finding effective solutions for our child abuse victims and their non-offending caregivers.
At SWMSCAC, we strive to put the needs of each child first by bringing together all services under one umbrella, including law enforcement, child protection, prosecution, mental and/or medical health treatment, as well as victim advocacy. We work with members of each discipline to conduct interview and make team decisions regarding investigation, treatment, management, and prosecution of all child abuse cases in our service area.
BENEFITS OF A CHILD ADVOCACY CENTER:
As an accredited member, we work collaboratively with members of our multidisciplinary teams to streamline the process of finding effective solutions for our child abuse victims and their non-offending caregivers.
At SWMSCAC, we strive to put the needs of each child first by bringing together all services under one umbrella, including law enforcement, child protection, prosecution, mental and/or medical health treatment, as well as victim advocacy. We work with members of each discipline to conduct interview and make team decisions regarding investigation, treatment, management, and prosecution of all child abuse cases in our service area.
BENEFITS OF A CHILD ADVOCACY CENTER:
- More immediate follow-ups to reports of child abuse and neglect.
- More efficient medical and mental health services made available to child abuse victims.
- Stronger cases built against perpetrators resulting in more children being protected.
- Increase in arrests and prosecutions.
OUR MISSION
The mission of Southwest Mississippi Children’s Advocacy Center is to provide a safe, non-threatening place for child victims and their families to receive a comprehensive array of services, which include the initial interview, court preparation, referral services, and on-site therapy services.
Services available at the Center will be focused on providing victims and their families with treatment, education, and support, while effectively coordinating available community resources. The support given to child victims helps begin the recovery process and also facilitates their movement through the criminal justice system. The Center will strive to provide, in all of its programs and services, a community based response to the epidemic of child abuse through treatment and prevention of re-victimization.
Southwest Mississippi Children's Advocacy Center is helping victims become children again.
Services available at the Center will be focused on providing victims and their families with treatment, education, and support, while effectively coordinating available community resources. The support given to child victims helps begin the recovery process and also facilitates their movement through the criminal justice system. The Center will strive to provide, in all of its programs and services, a community based response to the epidemic of child abuse through treatment and prevention of re-victimization.
Southwest Mississippi Children's Advocacy Center is helping victims become children again.
WHAT IS A CHILD ADVOCACY CENTER?
In 1985, Former Congressman Robert E. "Bud" Cramer (AL), who was then a District Attorney in Madison County, Alabama, saw the need to create a better system to help abused children. The social service and the criminal justice systems, at the time, were not working together in an effective manner that children could trust, adding to the children's emotional distress, and creating a segmented, repetitious, and often frightening experience for the child victims.
The CAC model of a Multidisciplinary Team (MDT) approach, developed through the vision of Former Congressman Cramer and a group of key individuals, pulled together law enforcement, criminal justice, child protective services, and medical and mental health workers onto one coordinated team. Thus, the National Children’s Advocacy Center was born!
The National Children’s Advocacy Center (NCAC), located in Huntsville, Alabama, revolutionized the United States’ response to child sexual abuse. Since its creation in 1985, the NCAC has served as a model for the 1000+ Children’s Advocacy Centers (CACs) now operating in the United States, including Southwest Mississippi Children's Advocacy Center!
The CAC model of a Multidisciplinary Team (MDT) approach, developed through the vision of Former Congressman Cramer and a group of key individuals, pulled together law enforcement, criminal justice, child protective services, and medical and mental health workers onto one coordinated team. Thus, the National Children’s Advocacy Center was born!
The National Children’s Advocacy Center (NCAC), located in Huntsville, Alabama, revolutionized the United States’ response to child sexual abuse. Since its creation in 1985, the NCAC has served as a model for the 1000+ Children’s Advocacy Centers (CACs) now operating in the United States, including Southwest Mississippi Children's Advocacy Center!
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