Child Advocacy Centre working briskly to provide services

Oct 30, 2013 News

Efforts by the Child Advocacy Centre (CAC) are moving apace, to adequately address the needs of children, who have been sexually and physically abused.
CAC is a US-based organization designed to provide counseling and dialogue intervention to abused children. It was officially launched in Guyana on September 25, 2013. The centre is operated by NGO Forward Guyana Inc. in partnership with ChildLinkInc and the Ministry of Labour Human Services and Social Security.
Representative of Forward Guyana Inc, Chantelle Haynes, explained that the group is currently finalizing the guidelines for cases to be referred by the Child Care and Protection Agency to CAC.
“We will be meeting with officials of the child protection agency to finalize a protocol for referrals to the centre; the Ministry will be tasked with the investigation aspect of the cases of abuse, while the CAC will provide suitable intervention through interviews and counseling.”
CAC will provide a safe, child-friendly location, where children will be interviewed by a trained forensic interviewer about the physical or sexual abuse they have experienced. The interview will be videotaped and is admissible as evidence in court.
Haynes says that approximately thirty personnel have embarked on training to provide the service. She explained that the staff from the agencies involved will receive expert training to provide forensic interviews and adequate counseling services.
According to Haynes, the centre should be fully operational by November 4.
The CAC, based in Alabama, USA, has been successful for more than three decades providing suitable intervention for cases of child abuse and neglect.
The initiative is a first of its kind in the Caribbean and South America.
Under the CAC procedure, a multi-disciplinary team of professionals including: law enforcement, Child Protective Services, the Department of Public Prosecutions, Mental Health Services and medical professionals will observe the interview on a screen from an adjoining room. They will ask questions or request clarifications that they require through an earpiece worn by the interviewer.
This approach reduces trauma to the child by allowing them to tell their story once instead of moving between several agencies reliving the experience each time they are forced to repeat it. In addition, the Multi-disciplinary approach is expected to increase the number of successful prosecutions in child abuse cases.
The centre offers a well furnished, child friendly environment staffed by forensic interviewers, counselors and parenting skills educators.

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