The Children’s Advocacy Center for the 31st Judicial District expanding its reach in Van Buren County by adding on-site counseling services to mark its first anniversary.
Executive Director Cassell Galligan-Davis said the organization is currently preparing to send a therapist to the center to assist children and families.Galligan-Davis said the facility recently joined the local Chamber of Commerce and held a ribbon-cutting ceremony to increase its presence in the community.
“It’s continuing to grow, and we’re just very excited,” Galligan-Davis said. “I’ll be picking up a quilt donation from some ladies that made handmade quilts for kids that come to interviews at the advocacy center in Van Buren County. They get care bags, and they will get a handmade quilt in that bag.”
Galligan-Davis said the center provides forensic interviews for victims of severe child abuse and offers family advocacy to help caregivers find necessary resources. The organization also provides court advocacy to support victims and families during legal proceedings.
“For us to be able to have a facility there for them to come to in their own county so they don’t have to have that long drive with all those hard things to talk about weighing on their mind, just makes a huge difference,” Galligan-Davis said. “It’s so much better, and then we can provide the services there that we provide here, so we provide family advocacy there, which is an advocate sitting with the non-offending caregivers and the child after the interview and helping them find all the resources they need.”
Galligan-Davis said children are referred to the center through the Department of Children’s Services or law enforcement after a report is made to the child abuse hotline or a police report is filed. The center then coordinates with the child protective investigative team, which includes the District Attorney’s office, to schedule interviews.
“We schedule it for a time when everyone can be present and that works for the non-offending caregivers because anyone that’s ever hurt a child is not allowed to be there or to be on the property,” Galligan-Davis said. “We also provide victims family advocacy, and that’s what I was explaining when a child is there for an interview, the advocate sits with the non-offending caregivers and helps them find resources they need. They’re also often in crisis and experiencing trauma too. And so it helps them to have someone that listens to them and to help them find what they need.”
Galligan-Davis said the county provides the building space for one dollar per year under a 20-year lease agreement. This arrangement allowed the nonprofit to invest funds into building repairs, including the roof and the heating and air system.
“By having that agreement with the county, it helped us to put the resources into the building to get it up and get it going and make it a place that is family and child-centered and a place of hope and healing for the kids we serve,” Galligan-Davis said. “It’s tremendous because the yes, it helps us put our resources more directly into helping children and families with the needs that they may have.”
Galligan-Davis said she has applied for a grant to fund a full-time family advocate to staff the Van Buren County location. The center currently shares staff members who travel to the office a few times each week.