services

The Wayne County Children’s Advocacy Center, Inc. (WCCAC) offers free service to all children and their non-offending caregivers. The WCCAC provides children with a forensic interview, medical examination, victim assistance, victim advocacy, social service referrals, case review and follow-up services. The children are interviewed by specially trained forensic interviewers in a child-friendly environment. The cases are managed by a multidisciplinary task force comprised of the forensic interviewers, county prosecutors, law enforcement officers, mental health workers, victim advocates, medical professionals and clinical staff. Members of the task force team help the child and family cope with the abuse and begin the recovery process.

Why is the visit at the WCCAC?

• Child friendly and a safe place for kids.
• Provides a coordinated community response for sexually abused children.
• Provides wrap around services to support the child and family.
• Specializes in the unique aspects of child sexual abuse.

Forensic Interview

Who will my child talk to?

• A Specially Trained Forensic Interviewer (FI).
• Experienced in talking with children about difficult subjects.
• FI’s goal is to make your child as comfortable as possible, while gathering the necessary information for an investigation.
• Questions are asked in a non-threatening and non-leading manner.
• The FI moves at a pace that is comfortable with your child and never forces a child to talk to them.

Can I watch the interview?

• No, only those people who are directly involved in the investigation are allowed to observe the interview. This is done to reduce the possible stress that can be placed on a child and to provide a neutral setting for the child and the investigation.
• Please bring a support person to wait with you during this time, if needed. If you bring more than one child, they will stay with you at all times during the interview.
• Before and after the interview, you will have an opportunity to discuss any questions or concerns with the investigative team members.

Medical Examination

Will my child need a medical exam?

The investigative team members will decide if your child needs a medical exam. If one is needed, the WCCAC Medical Professionals will perform the examination,
When the examination is over, the medical professional will be able to tell you in general terms what she learned.

What happens to a child victim once he or she discloses?

Child abuse and neglect are a major problem – and a major concern – for communities throughout the United States.  We all know that the problem exists.  The real question becomes “What happens to a child victim once he or she discloses?” 

• Often, agency personnel from law enforcement, child protective services, prosecution, medical, victim advocacy and mental health services will respond to child abuse cases. 
• Traditionally, each agency or professional has a different role in the investigation and intervention process. 
• Sometimes, their efforts to fulfill these roles will result in multiple interviews of the victim – and in re-traumatizing the victim they are seeking to assist.
• In the past, there was no mechanism for coordinating these services. 

In 1985, however, a quiet revolution took place with the establishment of the first children’s advocacy center in Huntsville, Alabama. Now, instead of the child victim navigating a difficult and confusing system of multiple, repetitive interviews (see diagram for visual representation of the old system), the system could be brought to the child. Children’s advocacy centers are modeled on the simple but powerful concept of coordination between community agencies and professionals involved in the intervention system (see diagram for visual representation of the new system).

From that first center in Huntsville, a national movement was created. Today, there are nearly 700 children’s advocacy centers nationwide, and more on the way. Children’s advocacy centers are community-based programs, designed to meet the unique needs of the particular community in which it is located – so no two centers are exactly alike, but all adhere to national standards for accreditation.

› Search for a local Children's Advocacy Center in your community.