School: Georgia State University

As an intern for the Children's Advocacy Centers of Georgia, I feel a strange sort of pull between the ideal of using advocacy centers to help reduce trauma to abused or neglected children and the reality of bureaucracy, board members, and the sometimes competing interests of the adults charged with implementing these centers. The concept of child advocacy centers is wonderful - a calm, child-friendly, home like atmosphere to bring children who have possibly been victims of abuse or neglect or witnesses to violent crimes to be interviewed by a trained forensic interviewer; multi-disciplinary teams to bring together all of the players in a child's case; and sometimes therapy and follow-up care for children and families. The problems are mostly in the logistics. Lack of resources, especially in poorer areas; distance and locations of centers; difficulty attracting qualified workers - these are only some of the complications that centers face. In addition, there are disagreements among centers as to best practices, disparity among multi-disciplinary teams as to how well they are used, and rules and regulations used seemingly to make a point rather than to increase the quality of care and services for children.

That being said, the state office should seize the opportunity of a new director and a fresh perspective to really consider the direction that CACGA should go and how it should work to overcome these issues and better serve child victims of abuse and neglect. Over the summer, I collected information from over half of the center directors as well as some other staff members. I asked them for both immediate concerns and long-term needs. Many of the responses point the center directors' wish that the state office take a more official role in not only legislative affairs and government grants as they do now, but as an umbrella organization that offers guidance on best practices, implementation, mediation between centers, fundraising and other areas. Based on this information and on the directors' participation at the long-range planning portion of the board meeting I attended in Savannah, CACGA should consider expanding to provide the following services.

Presence - Currently, CACGA has a lobbyist at the state capital, but very little statewide presence beyond this. Jurisdictions without CACs may have little to no awareness of the concept of CACs. Creating a greater presence, perhaps by public service announcements, statewide fundraisers or other activities, and by acknowledging the executive director as a child welfare expert. Presence within state statutes is another need - the state office has preferred that the CACs remain a very locally driven effort and not be mentioned very often in the state laws. Mentioning CACs more frequently in the state laws actually lends more credence and legitimacy to the CAC model. When CACs are present in the community, their function should be acknowledged in corresponding legislation. Other states have this type of legislation and it covers confidentiality, reporting, minimum standards, etc.

Quality Control - As the state office, CACGA is in a unique position to disseminate information to the centers as quickly as it is available and to ensure that centers are using best practices that are as up-to-date as possible. This may include more frequent site visits and evaluations, as currently the centers are only reviewed by the board during status renewals, as well as the creation of a Best Practices Manual that has the current standards recognized nationally, the development of more frequent trainings for a larger number of topics (including effective MDT meetings, interviewing, grant management, etc.), and the collection of data that can be used to not only compare CACs but determine what methods are working and how other centers might utilize those efforts. Further, the state office should mandate minimum requirements for forensic interviewers, including training at a nationally recognized facility in addition to the state sponsored Finding Words, a minimum number of supervised hours, and a Masters Degree in a related field.

Legal Assistance - The state office would be wise to have legal assistance on retainer not only should a crisis arise, but also for review of documents, forms, etc. to determine that these items meet legal standards as well as federal and state compliance.

Funding - This final category is a source of constant concern for many centers. While metro-Atlanta area centers may have an easier time fundraising and identifying corporate or individual sponsors and donors, centers in rural areas have a much more difficult time with fundraising. With fewer businesses and a poorer constituency, the children in these areas still need the services, but centers have fewer opportunities to raise money. Several rural centers maintain a staff of only one person, due to funding, which places too many differing demands on the director to provide interviews, manage the office, and organize MDT meetings. Further many jurisdictions in rural communities are looking to expand to two or more locations. With some jurisdictions encompassing five or more counties, children and families would have to travel great distances with only one center; however, funding a second center is even more difficult as the state divides the funds in half if there are two centers in one jurisdiction. This method needs to be re-evaluated and critiqued to determine if this is the best method to serve the most children effectively. Further, it is crucial that the state office assist with determining where new centers will be located to both provide advice regarding overlapping funding sources, as well as to facilitate open communication between these centers.

These are only a few of the many concerns that CACGA will need to consider over the next months and years. Child victims of abuse and neglect deserve to not be re-traumatized by the system designed to protect them. CACs are part of the solution, but in order that they be most effective and serve the greatest number of children in need, the state office will really need to take a step up and be a stronger entity to guide the CACs through the next years.

S. Kershner 11/1/2005

Children's Advocacy Centers of Georgia