Child Advocacy Center

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The mission of the Orange County Child Advocacy Center (CAC) is to provide a safe place for child victims of abuse and their families; to offer an array of services during the investigative phase of a sexual and/or physical abuse allegation.

Our first priority is to minimize the trauma to the children and their families by providing a safe and neutral, child-friendly environment. With a coordinated response, the CAC works in a manner that supports and protects children and their families.

The CAC collaborates with various agencies throughout Orange County to form a Multidisciplinary Team. This partnership aids in minimizing trauma to the child by avoiding having to re-tell their story multiple times.

At the center we provide a variety of comprehensive trauma-informed services to the victim and their non-offending caregiver.

These services can include but are not limited to:

         Forensic Interviews
        Emotional Support and Advocacy
         Medical Exams
         Mental Health Treatment
         Community Education and Outreach

CAC’s are not walk-in facilities. Each case of child abuse must be reported to the New York State Central Register of Child Abuse and Maltreatment or to the police for it to be referred to a Child Advocacy Center.

 Call the New York State Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-342-3720

For questions regarding the Orange County Child Advocacy Center please reach out to the CAC Coordinator, Dana Newman at dfa5a33.sm.CAC@dfa.state.ny.us 

  1. Services
  2. Statistics
  3. Neglect
  4. Physical Abuse
  5. Sexual Abuse
  6. Responding to Abuse
  7. Mandated Reporter's Info

Services

Forensic interview

The CAC allows a multi-disciplinary team to conduct legally sound interviews in compliance with The National Children’s Alliance and the New York State Children’s Alliance. Collaborating agencies refer cases to the CAC to conduct forensic interviews and refrain from conducting duplicative interviews unless otherwise absolutely necessary. The objective of the CAC is to reduce trauma to children and their families by conducting a coordinated investigation in a child friendly environment.

Emotional support and advocacy

Victim advocacy services will be provided to all child victims and their non-offending family members. Victim advocates shall provide families with objective and knowledgeable support throughout the investigation. Victim advocates may act as a liaison between various systems (health, legal, mental health, family, public assistance, etc.) and provide emotional support as the family interfaces with these systems. The role of the advocate during the forensic interview is to participate in information sharing, inform the family about the multidisciplinary team response as well as assess the needs of the child and non-offending caregivers.

Medical Exams

 All children who are potential victims are offered a medical evaluation. The purpose of a medical evaluation is to help ensure the health, safety, and wellbeing of the child. The medical team will diagnose, document, and address medical conditions resulting from the abuse. They will identify injuries and determine if further medical intervention is necessary. They will differentiate medical findings that are indicative of abuse from those that may be explained by other medical conditions or be normal variants.

Mental Health Treatment

The multi-disciplinary team can refer all victims and non-offending family members to specialized trauma focused mental health services. The CAC recognizes that proper trauma focused mental health services are essential to the recovery of victims and realizes the importance of engaging the child and family in counseling as soon as possible.

Community Education and Outreach

The CAC can provide education and outreach to the community regarding child abuse and maltreatment, its effects, how to seek help when abuse or maltreatment is suspected, and services provided by the CAC.