Child Advocacy Center earns critical acclaim

After five years of meticulous work, Iola’s Child Advocacy Center (CAC) has received national accreditation from the National Children’s Alliance.
CAC is a child-friendly interview center where children of all ages go to speak with specifically trained interviewers about allegations of child abuse. Hope Unlimited, Iola’s shelter, runs the CAC program.
The process involves a team of professionals from agencies such as law enforcement, social services, mental health, county attorney’s office and victim advocacy.
Ideally the children go through the interview process only once.
“The idea is to reduce that trauma to the kid, parents and non-offending caregiver,” CAC coordinator Donita Garner said.
The alternatives for kids who report child abuse are to go to the police department, which can intimidate and scare the children.
“This is a safe place where (the interviewers) aren’t wearing badges and guns,” Garner said. “The police department can make the kids feel like they are in trouble.”
When the child goes through the interview process there is only one person in the room but the interview is observed and recorded.
“We are here because we believe that children deserve a better process,” Garner said.

The CAC had to meet nine requirements to meet accreditation standards. Only about 50 percent of organizations get approved on the first try. 
Many times an organization will need to get references, but they were approved on the first round and did it without references.
“We are very proud,” Garner said. “To be able to pull this together is a huge accomplishment.”
Now that the CAC is accredited they essentially have a federal stamp of approval and will receive a little more financial support.  
“We deal with a side of society that people don’t know it exists,” County Attorney Wade Bowie.

THE TEAM that makes up CAC is CAC director Donita Garner, County Attorney Wade Bowie, Nicole Desmarteau with the Department of Children and Families (DCF), Iola police officer Doug Campbell, Staci Tush with DCF, Neosho Memorial Hospital SANE/SART nurse Stacy Trester, Melinda Bailey with the Southeast Kansas Mental Health Center, Katy McVey with DCF, Michele Thompson with DCF and Neosho Memorial Hospital SANE/SART coordinator Amanda Tindel.     
For more information on CAC contact (620)365-7566.