"Facing it, always facing it, that's the way to get through. Face it."
There can be no keener revelation of a society’s soul than the way in which it treats its children
What is a Child Advocacy Center?
Child Advocacy Centers are community-based, child friendly, multidisciplinary services for children and families affected by child sexual abuse or severe physical abuse. CAC’s bring together, in one location, Child Protective Services caseworkers, law enforcement, assistant district attorney’s and medical and mental health professional to provide a coordinated, comprehensive response to victims and their caregivers.
Before our CAC existed, the “system” was doing more harm than good to victims of child abuse. Children were expected to repeat their stories over and over again. They may have been questioned in not so comfortable locations like ER’s, police stations, schools offices, or doctor’s offices and being re-traumatized each time they had to repeat the stories of the trauma they experienced.
Now, our partners, child welfare, local law enforcement, prosecutors and medical and mental health professionals come together in one location here. Children tell their experiences to a trained forensic interviewer, get a medical exam when needed, meet with a therapist when needed and are linked with a victim advocate. All team members work together to provide the child and family the support services they need – from the beginning to the end of the process.
The CAC is built on a multidisciplinary team approach by providing a non-threatening child focused environment. Our location is central and neutral for families and team members. The CAC provides supportive care for the child as well as the family. Our advocates work with the District Attorney's office and help families to navigate the court system. The advocates will also refer families to appropriate counseling centers where it will be convenient for them to get the services they need.
Today there are nearly 700 CACs nationwide and 20 in the state of Oklahoma. CACs are designed to meet the needs of the community in which it is located – so no 2 centers are exactly alike.
About Dearing House
The idea to start a child advocacy center in Kay and Noble counties was initiated in 1998 by a Task Force under the guidance of the District Attorney's office. At that time, a new approach to responding to reports of possible child abuse was moving across the country, following the model of the first center, the National Child Advocacy Center, in Huntsville, Alabama.
Community awareness and support for a local center was generated by a "child watch tour" in 1999 when 20 community leaders were given the opportunity to follow the steps of a child during a re-enactment of the investigation process, with adults playing the roles of the child as well as the investigators, child welfare workers, and court personnel. Driven by the desire to improve the investigative process,and outcomes for traumatized children and their families, community members on the tour made a commitment to support the Task Force' goals of creating a child advocacy center. In partnership with the Domestic Violence Program of North Central Oklahoma, Inc (now recognized as Survivor Resource Network), the Task Force conducted a successful capital campaign and in 2002 began remodeling a donated building in compliance with national standards established for all centers by the National Children's Alliance..
Dearing House, named for the family that donated the building, opened its doors to children in April 2003. Dearing House is a non-profit organization, governed by a board of directors, and accredited by the National Children's Alliance, and Child Advocacy Centers of Oklahoma.
National statistics tell us that one in four girls and one in six boys will be sexually abused before they turn 18. Children are most often sexually abused by someone they know and may not report that abuse for fear of being blamed or not believed. A child advocacy center is a safe and comforting place for these children to come for interviews and assistance by specially trained investigative professionals. This child-focused approach is widely recognized as the best and most effective way of handling child abuse investigations.
Community awareness and support for a local center was generated by a "child watch tour" in 1999 when 20 community leaders were given the opportunity to follow the steps of a child during a re-enactment of the investigation process, with adults playing the roles of the child as well as the investigators, child welfare workers, and court personnel. Driven by the desire to improve the investigative process,and outcomes for traumatized children and their families, community members on the tour made a commitment to support the Task Force' goals of creating a child advocacy center. In partnership with the Domestic Violence Program of North Central Oklahoma, Inc (now recognized as Survivor Resource Network), the Task Force conducted a successful capital campaign and in 2002 began remodeling a donated building in compliance with national standards established for all centers by the National Children's Alliance..
Dearing House, named for the family that donated the building, opened its doors to children in April 2003. Dearing House is a non-profit organization, governed by a board of directors, and accredited by the National Children's Alliance, and Child Advocacy Centers of Oklahoma.
National statistics tell us that one in four girls and one in six boys will be sexually abused before they turn 18. Children are most often sexually abused by someone they know and may not report that abuse for fear of being blamed or not believed. A child advocacy center is a safe and comforting place for these children to come for interviews and assistance by specially trained investigative professionals. This child-focused approach is widely recognized as the best and most effective way of handling child abuse investigations.
Meet our Staff
Maggi HutchasonExecutive Director
Maggi Hutchason has served as Executive Director since 2003 when Dearing House first began. and has over 20 years of experience in responding to children as well as non-profit management. In addition to the administrative duties of Executive Director, such as budgeting, grant writing and accreditation standards, Maggi conducts many of the forensic interviews at Dearing House. Maggi admits that interviewing children is her favorite part of the job, but knows that compliance with current research and best practices is equally important to meet Dearing House's mission of hearing, helping and healing. As a nationally accredited child advocacy center, Dearing House must meet the standards of the National Children's Alliance to assure that children and families are receiving the best care. Maggi also provides training to other child welfare professionals across the country and serves on local, state and national boards and task forces.
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Nina VincentProgram Manager Advocate
Nina Vincent, as Program Manager Advocate, divides her time between greeting guests with a big smile, providing hospitality to children and families, organizing the daily events and tasks at Dearing House and volunteering for other local causes for children. Sometimes she sits at a desk and other times she sits on the floor with kiddos and Legos. Nina also spends time with the grownups while the child is being interviewed so that she can help families with their questions and concerns. Nina has extensive experience connecting families with services and resources that fit their unique circumstances, a wealth of knowledge about ways to help children and families on the path to healing and is always available to answer even the most difficult questions when it comes to helping a child overcome trauma. She has over ten years of experience interacting with children of all ages from around the world, is bi-lingual and specializes in helping children and families.
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