About

The Board of Directors, staff and volunteers of the Children’s Advocacy Center believe child abuse is a community problem. Past experience has taught us that no single agency can possibly meet all the needs of sexually victimized children and their families. Experience has also taught us that taking child victims from agency to agency over and over for multiple interviews, traumatizes the children and, in fact, re­victimizes them. We are committed to providing a coordinated, multi­disciplinary team approach including Protective Services, Law Enforcement, Prosecution, Medical and Mental Health professionals. It is our goal to provide programs and support services for child victims and their families which will enable them to heal emotionally and physically. Currently 1 in 10 children in the US are being sexually abused before their 18th birthday¹, including in Ottawa County. As many as 90% of victims of child sexual abuse knew their perpetrator, such as a family member or a coach2. Statistics like these, though they are true, can be overwhelming, and it sometimes feels like there is nothing we can do to make a difference. That is far from the truth! Both children and adults have the power to make our community safer. As adults, we put babies into car seats, we walk children across a busy street and we ask teenagers questions about where they are going and who they are going with, all to keep them safe. As adults, we have the same power and ability to keep the children in our lives safe from sexual abuse.