NEW YORK CITY NOW BENEFITS FROM THE GOLD STANDARD IN FIGHTING CHILD ABUSE
February 18, 2015 (Bronx, NY) — PR Newswire
Safe Horizon, the nation’s largest victim services agency, has opened a new Child Advocacy Center (CAC) in the Bronx, with significant support from the de Blasio Administration. This center will be staffed by experts from Safe Horizon, the Administration for Children’s Services, the New York Police Department, the Bronx District Attorney’s Office, the New York City Law Department and Montefiore Medical Center. Together, this team of experts will investigate and respond to the most serious cases of sexual and severe physical child abuse in the Bronx.
The NYC Administration for Children’s Services investigates more than 50,000 reports of suspected child abuse and neglect every year across New York City. The Child Advocacy Center model is a proven, effective approach to investigating and responding to allegations of severe child abuse and neglect, bringing together various disciplines necessary to the process and helping children heal. It ensures children’s safety, addresses their physical injuries and emotional trauma, and brings abusers to justice. In 2015, The Bronx CAC will see an estimated 2,000 of the most serious cases of child abuse in the borough. It will likely be one of the CACs with the highest volume in the country.
“Together with our government partners, we’ve realized the vision of having a Child Advocacy Center in every borough. Abused children in all of New York City will now receive the absolute best care available,” said Safe Horizon CEO Ariel Zwang. The organization will be the only one in the country to operate five CACs in an urban setting where all responding agencies are under one roof.
As stated by Teresa Huizar, Executive Director of National Children’s Alliance, “We are thrilled to see the expansion of the Child Advocacy Center model and to know that more children in need will ultimately be served. As the accrediting body for Child Advocacy Centers, we are committed to working with Safe Horizon and the over 770 other Child Advocacy Centers across the nation to ensure best practices are shared, training and support are provided, and advocacy at the highest level is offered on behalf of children in need.”
New York City’s CACs are places of hope and healing for abused children. Safe Horizon has implemented a brief mental health intervention developed by Yale University Child Study Center, the Child and Family Traumatic Stress Intervention (CFTSI). Over 1,000 children have completed CFTSI at a Safe Horizon CAC since 2008, resulting in significant reductions of their suffering and traumatic symptoms.
About Safe Horizon
Safe Horizon empowers victims of domestic violence, child abuse, sexual assault and human trafficking to move from crisis to confidence – touching the lives of 250,000 New Yorkers every year. www.safehorizon.org
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