A Child’s Voice, serving Newton, Walton, and surrounding counties, is a children's advocacy center designed to meet the needs of children who are victims of sexual or physical abuse or neglect. A Child’s Voice is not a shelter; it is a facility supplied with state-of-the-art equipment that enables trained professionals to conduct effective, consistent, non-threatening interviews and forensic examinations of children who have made these allegations. It is a "one-stop-shop" utilizing a multi-disciplinary team approach to the investigation, treatment, and prevention of child sexual abuse.
Our main focus at A Child’s Voice is the child. As such, the environment is completely child-friendly and accessible. There is an area available for children to play, stocked with a variety of age appropriate toys and activities. The center is also available to provide support for adolescents, with age appropriate activities available.
What is a children’s advocacy center? It is a center designed to meet the needs of children who have reported allegations of sexual abuse. Also, the center is designed to meet the needs of children with neglect issues, physical abuse, and children who are possible witnesses to a homicide.
How does A Child’s Voice do this? A Child’s Voice helps these children in a number of ways. We have specially trained professionals who conduct forensic interviews of the children who have made these allegations. Interviews are videotaped in safe, child-friendly surroundings to avoid multiple interviews, reduce the trauma of disclosure, and preserve statements for court purposes. We work to protect the children, gathering valuable information, in a child-friendly setting.
What other professionals work there? We also have professionals who can medically examine children who have alleged abuse. On the counseling side, we currently make referrals to licensed therapists who can provide counseling services to the children when that becomes necessary.
Does the staff at your center work with any other professionals from outside of the center?Absolutely. We work with non-offending family members, child protective services, law enforcement, and therapists.
Will the center provide other community services related to child welfare? Yes. The center will provide training by qualified personnel to those who work with children to help them recognize signs of abuse. The center will also provide training to raise community awareness of the problem of child abuse and neglect.
You’ve described a situation where the various professionals come to the center to meet with the child, rather than the child going to the different locations for medical appointments or interviews at a police precinct. Why is this? That is really the crux of our center’s mission and that of children’s advocacy centers in general. Our main focus is the child’s needs, and the child’s needs will be better met when we come to them and when we all work together.