The Lenawee County Child Advocacy Center (LCCAC) provides services for children who have been sexually and/or severely physically abused. The essence of the LCCAC is a single forensic interview in a child-friendly environment, reducing the trauma a child may experience when he/she has to talk repeatedly about the abuse. This protects the child from further harm or re-victimization that results from multiple interviews in a variety of physical environments by various professionals (child protective services, police, prosecutors, etc.). While each agency has protocols and procedures to intervene in these cases, current research shows that providing a more standardized, multidisciplinary approach to better protect and treat the children yields better outcomes for everyone involved.

At LCCAC, the victim and their non-offending caregiver(s) are provided services considered “best practice” standard, with early intervention, thorough one-time interview by a highly-trained professional, a collaborative Multi-Disciplinary Team (MDT) approach to investigation, crisis management, and long-term therapeutic services options. This process has been very successful not only in increased rates of prosecution, but also in providing the help and resources necessary for the child victim and their non-offending caregiver(s) to heal. The availability of these services for victims of abuse dramatically reduces the likelihood that they will become abusers themselves or will engage in other delinquent or otherwise unlawful behavior. Also, the LCCAC services are provided at no cost to children and their families at our child-friendly site, enabling them to receive coordinated and supportive professional services necessary to help them.