Denver Children's Advocacy Center This Is What We
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2 0 1 1 ANNUAL REPORT Denver Children’s Advocacy Center event Abu ore Child Pr se st ho Re od S t es re ili ngthen Fa m This is what we do. About DCAC The Denver Children’s Advocacy Center (DCAC) works to improve the lives of children traumatized by sexual abuse and violence—as well as those who are at high risk—with prevention, education and direct services. Our mission is to : Prevent Strengthen Restore Abuse Families Childhood e achieve this mission by providing support our colleagues in the Denver Our goals are to: Wa continuum of care that includes Police Department, Denver District Attor- prevention programs, education and train- ney’s Office, the Denver Department of • meet the child’s complete health, mental ing, access to public health insurance, fo- Human Services, and Denver Health. health and welfare needs rensic interviews, assessment, mental health • Children and their needs are at the • prevent abuse and violence through treatment, and family support in a safe, wel- education and outreach coming environment. center of our work—instead of subjecting child victims to multiple interviews that • break the cycle of abuse and violence by At DCAC, we operate under two core prin- exacerbate their trauma, our partners engaging the family as a whole ciples: on the multi-disciplinary team—police, prosecutors, social workers and medical • ensure that every high-risk child in Denver • We are the first responders to reports of staff—come to DCAC to watch just one and surrounding counties who has been child abuse in the Denver metro area— forensic interview and then work with us traumatized by neglect, abuse and vio- our staff are on call 24 hours a day/365 to ensure integration of services along a lence receives immediate, compassionate days a year to provide crisis management continuum of care. and effective intervention. for child victims and their families and to Accreditation by the National Children’s Alliance The Denver Children’s Advocacy Center is Agencies are evaluated every five years. proud to be an accredited member of the DCAC was reaccredited in 2011. National Children’s Alliance, the governing To be accredited, there are ten core stan- body for the U.S.A.’s more than 700 child dards that all centers must meet: advocacy centers. Accreditation is a rigor- ous process designed to ensure that all child advocacy centers provide effective, efficient 1. Multidisciplinary Team (MDT) and consistent delivery of services to child 2. Cultural Competency and Diversity abuse victims throughout the country. 3. Forensic 4. Victim Support and Advocacy Donors and community partners can be as- 5. Medical Evaluation sured that accredited child advocacy centers 6. Mental Health meet the highest standards in serving child 7. Case Review victims while also supporting police and 8. Case Tracking prosecutors in the successful investigation 9. Organizational Capacity of crimes against children. 10. Child Focused Setting 2 May 2012 Dear Friends: How many times did you drive by one of these billboards in the last eight months? The fact that “Trusted Adults com- mit 90% of child sexual abuse” has resonated with Denver residents and we hear daily from visitors that os adultos “de confianza” cometen el 90% del abuso infantil. they get the message! No podemos confiar ciegamente en los adultos en quienes dependemos At the Denver Children’s Advocacy Center,para we proteger are amaking nuestros niños. every effort to expand our prevention work and have Los parientes, entrenadores, maestros, personal de guarderías y líderes espirituales son figuras autoritarias que been thrilled to be part of a national publica los niñosawareness se les ha enseñado acampaign respetar. Sin embargo, unon gran porcentajeabuse del abusoprevention sexual infantil, es cometido launched September 20 in por personas de estos grupos. Con frecuencia, los niños se resisten a contarlo porque piensan que no les partnership with the Office of Juvenile vanJustice a creer. and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP). The impactPrevenir el abuso of - Fortalecerthe lasbillboards familias - Anime a los niños a hablar y a pedir ayuda. Es esencial una supervisión y vigilancia constante para prevenir Restablecer la niñez has been amplified by public service announcementscualquier forma de abuso infantil. on numerous radio stations, in both Spanish and English. Si sospecha que un niño es víctima de abandono o de abuso, por favor llame a Denver Crisis Hotline al 720.944.3000. Despite our efforts at prevention, thereEste proyectoare cuenta con elstill apoyo de la subvención too otorgada por la Oficinamany de Justicia Juvenil y Prevenciónchild de Delincuencia (OJJDP)victims de la Oficina de Programas in de Justicia del needDepartamento de Justicia de oflos Estados forensic Unidos. interviews, mental health treatment and support for their vulnerable families. As poverty rates have increased, so have the rates of child abuse in Denver—all documented in the recently released census figures. We want to emphasize that treatment works! There is a growing body of research to demonstrate consistent posi- tive outcomes for the neuro-developmentally, sensitive, biologically respectful approach employed at DCAC— even for children whose trauma is severe or has been untreated for many years. Seventy percent of the children at DCAC are able to complete treatment within a year and we are able to “restore childhood” for these child victims of abuse. What DCAC is doing is working! We have a first-rate staff; a dedicated board of directors; a cadre of highly skilled student interns who come to DCAC because we are on the cutting-edge of therapeutic intervention for trauma- tized children and vulnerable families; a growing volunteer base of individuals, corporate teams, and professionals who provide invaluable pro bono services; an expanding training program that last year reached more than 2,000 professionals and community members; and of course, the many generous people who provide the funding for our mission. Funding in 2011 was very, very challenging – as was 2010, 2009 and 2008 when the recession first hit home. And 2012 is a challenge too! Foundations and corporations continue to cut back on grants; federal, state and local government funding continues to decline; and many of our individual donors are struggling to care for their own families. Yes, times are tough, but the need is so great, and the children need us now. Please be as generous as you can this year – the need has never been more urgent. In 2011, we served 1,809 children and 841 of their parents and caregivers and those numbers will be even higher in 2012. We extend our very grateful thanks to all of you who supported DCAC in 2011, and ask you to continue your kindness and generosity throughout 2012. With best regards, Matthew Hogan Dr. Gizane Indart Chair, Board of Directors Chief Executive Officer 3 A CONTINUUM OF CARE DCAC’s programs fall along a continuum of care from the prevention of abuse to assessment and treatment for the most complex cases of child trauma. DCAC specializes in integrated care management that strengthens vulnerable and high-risk families by ensuring their immediate and coordinated access to a wide range of supportive services. DCAC’s four primary programs are: • Prevention Program-Denver Safe from the Start • The Forensic Interview Program • The Child and Adolescent Assessment and Treatment Program • Professional Training and Community Education Program Prevention Prevention is at the heart of our programming. DCAC has a stellar reputation for providing assessment and mental health treatment for child victims of abuse from fractured and fragile families and strengthening those families to prevent the abuse from happening. However, our goal is to eventually stop abuse from occurring in the first place, and we are focusing an increasing amount of our resources into prevention. Denver Safe from the Start, our prevention program at pre-schools and el- ementary schools, has research-based results to show that we are helping high-risk families to protect their children from sexual abuse and violence. The program works on three levels to increase the safety and well-being of children by: teaching educators about child abuse prevention and how to help families access resources; providing child development education for parents together with access to health insurance, health care and other criti- cal resources; and teaching young children basic self-protective and healthy living skills. Winston the Worm, created by former board In 2011, 1,011 children, 153 parents, and 55 teachers participated in chair and long-time volunteer, Mark Heller- Denver Safe from the Start; 272 children were enrolled in Medicaid or stein, is one of the children’s favorite characters CHP+ health insurance programs and more than 500 children saw doc- in the curriculum. He has become the unofficial tors and dentists to address their immediate medical/dental needs and mascot for Denver Safe from the Start. to set up long-term medical homes. 4 Have you seen the billboards? As part of DCAC’s two-year demonstration grant from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) prevention staff worked with the Denver-based marketing company Heinrich His- panidad and prevention nonprofit INOBTR (i know better…do you?) to launch a major public educa- tion campaign in the fall of 2011. Eleven huge billboards in Spanish and English were at major Denver intersections, and many smaller lguien le dijo que no contara, pero le notices were posted at bus shelters. Radio stations sorprenderá que tanto KBCO, KTCL, KRFX, KPTT, KOA, KHOW, KKZN, KXPK, está dispuesta a hablar. Una pregunta, una conversación, un momento, puede cambiar KJMN, and KMXA broadcast prevention messages in de manera positiva la vida de un niño víctima de abuso sexual. Reconozca las señales. Haga preguntas. Consiga ayuda.