The
Hudson County Child Advocacy Center (CAC) was created in May2005 under the auspices
of the Hudson County Prosecutor's Office. Primarily due to its location, the
CAC did not function to the degree originally anticipated. The CAC was located
on the second floor of the Hudson County Public Safety Building at 555 Duncan
Avenue, Jersey City. This site was in close proximity to the County's Special
Victims Unit as well as the satellite office for the County Prosecutor's Narcotics
and Homicide Task Forces and the Hudson County 911 unit. In addition, the location
was not easily accessible to the public-it is situated at the end of industrial-oriented
Duncan Avenue at the Hackensack River under the shadow of the Pulaski Skyway.
According to Hudson County Prosecutor Edward J. DeFazio, the CAC location was
"not conducive to the needs of traumatized children and did not meet the
best practice standards of the National Children's Alliance." (The National
Children's Alliance certifies and supports Child Advocacy Centers throughout
the United States.)
In the Fall of 2006, it became apparent to the CAC Advisory Board that the structure and location of the Center precluded any possibility of it becoming a fully operational Child Advocacy Center. In October 2006, the Prosecutor convened a meeting of Advisory Board members to discuss a new direction. As a result of that meeting, a new Advisory Board was created to transition the CAC from a prosecutor-based entity to non-profit status. The Prosecutor appointed Peter Herbst, the executive director of the Hudson County Child Abuse Prevention Center, to chair the new Advisory Board.
After email consultation with Anne Lynn, the National
Children's Alliance Regional Director, the re-constituted Advisory Board met
for the first time on January 19, 2007. At this meeting, the Board agreed to
transition the CAC to non-profit status as a program of the Hudson County Child
Abuse Prevention Center. The Advisory Board also agreed to pursue a new space
at 586 Newark Avenue in Jersey City. In June 2007, the Child Abuse Prevention
Center was awarded a state grant of $211,050 to renovate 2000 square feet of
space at 586 Newark Avenue.
The Hudson County CAC opened in 2005 as a program of the Hudson County Prosecutor's Office. In January 2007, the CAC was transitioned to the Hudson County Child Abuse Prevention Center-the county's lead non-profit agency focusing on child abuse and its prevention. In June 2007, the Child Abuse Prevention Center received a grant from the New Jersey Department of Children and Families to renovate 2000 square feet on Newark Avenue in Jersey City-an ideal site directly across from the Hudson County Courthouse and a five minute walk from Journal Square, the County's major transportation hub. In 2007, Stacey Maida, M.S.W., L.S.W., was hired as the Director for the newly reconstituted Child Advocacy Center.
This new space will include 3 offices, 2 interview rooms, 2 counseling rooms, a medical room, a monitoring room, a conference room, kitchen area and a waiting/play area. The facility will be child friendly, developmentally appropriate and accessible 24 hours a day, seven days per week.
The CAC will be staffed by a director, a receptionist and a multi-disciplinary team (MDT) coordinator. The MDT coordinator is an employee of the Prosecutor's office who will be stationed at the Center. Mental health counselors will be provided to the Center on a rotating basis by local mental health providers.
The Child Abuse Prevention Center board of directors created a steering committee to oversee the work of the Advocacy Center. The steering committee includes representatives from the Prosecutor's office, Division of Youth and Family Services, local service providers and the Child Abuse Prevention Center.
Because CAC work is performed by representatives of complex systems and agencies, the steering committee is developing protocols to ensure effective and appropriate functioning, including the types of cases the CAC will oversee; when and how interviews are conducted; as well as when, how and with whom follow-up sessions will be arranged.
Services For Children
The mission of the Hudson County Child Advocacy Center is to provide a child-centered, community-based facility to respond to the multi-dimensional needs of child abuse victims in a thorough, efficient and caring manner which at all times recognizes the needs of the child as the most important priority. It is anticipated that the CAC will serve, on an annual basis, 100 or more Hudson County children from birth to 13 years old who are victims of severe physical and sexual abuse. The core functions of the CAC include:
Provide a child friendly environment where children meet with a skilled interviewer to talk about their allegations of abuse.
While the daily work of a CAC fluctuates, the following actions occur for new cases: DYFS or law enforcement brings the child to the CAC along with a non-offending parent or guardian. The MDT Coordinator is notified and the team--investigators from the Prosecutor's office, DYFS caseworkers and a medical forensic examiner, is summoned. In the meantime, the child and adult(s) wait in the waiting/play area. Light snacks will be offered. The child is interviewed by one trained member of the team. The interview is video-recorded and monitored by other team members. Counseling will be provided for the victim and other family members. If necessary, a medical exam is performed. After the initial interview, the CAC will provide case conferences to monitor the progress of the case, ongoing counseling for the victim and any other type of appropriate support.
The Hudson County Child Abuse Prevention Center
The Hudson County Child Abuse Prevention Center (HCCAPC) is the "central address" for all child abuse issues in Hudson County. As such, HCCAPC is uniquely qualified to sponsor the Child Advocacy Center. Its 25 year history demonstrates a consistent commitment to inter-agency collaboration, effective community organization and quality programming.
The Hudson County Child Abuse Prevention Center is a private, not-for-profit agency serving communities throughout Hudson County, New Jersey. It is recognized by the Internal Revenue Service as a 501c3 corporation. The mission of HCCAPC is to promote the safety and well-being of Hudson County children by providing programs and services which develop and strengthen the community's capacity to nurture children and prevent child abuse in all forms.
The Center was established in 1982 as a grass-roots organization to provide counseling and other walk-in support services. In 1989, the agency became the Jersey City Child Abuse Prevention Center. In 1993, the Center name was changed to the Hudson County Child Abuse Prevention Center to reflect our growing service area. The chart on page presents a six-year summary of HCCAPC programming:
To implement this mission, the Center provides programs in Parenting Education, Youth Empowerment, Professional Training, and Community Coordination & Awareness. The Child Advocacy Center and the soon-to-be-opened Kearny/Harrison/East Newark Family Success Center are the Center's two newest programs. These efforts provide a comprehensive child abuse prevention program for families throughout Hudson County. These accomplishments demonstrate HCCAPC's consistent capacity to create effective programs, forge productive collaborations and get things done to keep children safe. According to the 2005 adjusted census, there are in Hudson County 115,456 children ages birth to 15. The rate of substantiated child abuse in Hudson County is approxi-mately 500 victims per year. The most common type of abuse is neglect, followed, in descending order, by physical abuse, sexual abuse, multiple types and emotional abuse.
The Child Abuse Prevention Program
The Child Abuse Prevention Program (CAPP) works to educate young children about their right to be safe. Every year, CAPP reaches over 30,000 children, teaching them how to recognize, resist, and report child abuse. While teaching our children to speak, CAPP also teaches our communities to listen, and to respond to their questions and needs. CAPP has also set up and established Children's Clothes Closets in different child advocacy centers in New York City, as well as one in Jersey City. CAPP stocks these closets with clothing, pajamas, toiletries, toys and books which the children who visit the child advocacy centers may place in overnight bags that they may take with them when they need to be moved to a safer environment because of abuse in their homes. www.childabusepreventionprogram.org
The Hudson County Child Advocacy Center
represents a unique opportunity to provide a critical service to child abuse
victims. We have a vision, a new facility, a committed group of professionals
and volunteers and, regretfully, children who need this service. Operating funds
will allow our vision to become a reality. Special thanks to Dan Simon from
Studio Simon of Louisville, Kentucky for creating the logo for our organization.