National Children’s Alliance recognizes Carroll County Child Advocacy Center for its delivery of high quality and effective services to child abuse victims through accreditation
January 24, 2016 –The Carroll County Child Advocacy Center (CC-CAC) has been awarded accreditation by National Children’s Alliance following an extensive application and site review process. As the accrediting agency for Children’s Advocacy Centers (CAC) across the country, National Children’s Alliance awards various levels of accreditation and membership to centers responding to allegations of child abuse in ways that are effective and efficient, and put the needs of child victims of abuse first. Accreditation is the highest level of membership with National Children’s Alliance and denotes excellence in service provision.
After opening the doors in 2013, the CC-CAC has conducted an average of 250 interviews a year for the counties of Carroll, Haralson, and Heard. They also have provided over 5000 adults with Darkness to Light’s Stewards of Children training which teaches adults how to prevent recognize and respond appropriately to child sexual abuse. Staff meet monthly with a multidisciplinary team to ensure that all of the children they have seen are receiving adequate services. As an Accredited Member of Nation Children’s Alliance, the CC-CAC is dedicated to providing comprehensive, coordinated and compassionate services to victims of child abuse.
The state of Georgia has 46 Child Advocacy Centers. Of those 46 centers, 43 are full members of Children’s Advocacy Centers of Georgia, two are associate centers and one is a developing center. Of the 43 centers who are full member centers, 29 are fully accredited with the National Children’s Alliance with the CC-CAC as its newest member.
National Children’s Alliance awards Accredited Membership based on a CAC’s compliance with 10 national standards of accreditation to ensure effective, efficient and consistent delivery of services to child abuse victims. National Children’s Alliance updated these standards in 2010 to reflect the most recent evidence-based practices in the field of child abuse intervention and prevention. According to these standards, Accredited Members must utilize a functioning and effective Multidisciplinary Team approach to work collaboratively in child abuse investigation, prosecution, and treatment. National Children’s Alliance also considers standards regarding a center’s cultural competency and diversity, forensic interviews, victim support and advocacy, medical evaluation, therapeutic intervention, and child focused setting.
“As a team of individuals dedicated to responding to child abuse, we recognize the importance of accreditation from National Children’s Alliance and supporting the Multidisciplinary Team approach. Accreditation not only validates our team’s proven effective approach to responding to allegations of child abuse, but also provides consistency across the child advocacy center movement as a whole,” said Tracy O. Lewis-Martin, Director of the Carroll County Child Advocacy Center.
“The Carroll County Child Advocacy Center is to be commended for its excellent work serving victims of child abuse. As the national association and accrediting body for Children’s Advocacy Centers across the country, our goal is to ensure that every victim of child abuse has access to high quality services that result from professional collaboration,” remarked Teresa Huizar, Executive Director of National Children’s Alliance.
For more information about the Carroll County Child Advocacy Center, visit www.cc-cac.org.
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Emily Cole
770-328-4197
