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Lake County Children’s Advocacy Center gears up for annual Blue Kids Campaign
April is Child Abuse Prevention Month, and few people see the faces of child abuse in the way that workers at the Lake County Children’s Advocacy Center do, week after week, month after month, year after year. The not-for-profit Children’s Advocacy Center provides a safe, warm setting, complete with masterful comfort dog Mitch. A place where children can be interviewed by victim advocates and often reveal the sad, scary and uncomfortable facts of criminal child abuse and acts of assault, whether physical or sexual. As an arm of the Lake County States Attorney’s Office, the center provides crucial information to investigators on cases in which charges may be brought to court. But it has other goals as well – healing, prevention and awareness. Children’s Advocacy Center officials have built a network of community partners, from police and private businesses to other agencies and individuals, to help make what they do possible, and to work toward the day when the demand for their interview rooms lessens. Advocacy Center Executive Director Carrie Flanigan said the community partnerships are crucial to building
the type of awareness that leads to action, whether it’s legislative protections, volunteering and education, or increasing the number of residents who can recognize the signs of child abuse and are willing to report it. The program also seeks to engage youth, promoting more peer dialogue on the issue, she said. “By spreading awareness and encouraging dialogue, we can prevent abuse from happening in the first place and help keep our children safe, Flanigan said. “Together with our community partners, we are working to show a unified front in our mission to end child abuse.” Flanigan said the center sees about 1,000 child victims each year, providing not only a place for forensic interviews, but also offering counseling and direct support to child victims and their families in a child-friendly atmosphere, including support groups for parents, art groups for children and preventative training programs run in conjunction with its Young Ambassador Board. Staffing, including assistant state’s attorneys, is provided by the State’s Attorney’s Office through Lake County’s budget, but donations and the hard work
“
By spreading awareness and encouraging dialogue, we can prevent abuse from happening in the first place and help keep our children safe.” – Executive Director Carrie Flanigan
of the Friends of the Lake County Children’s Advocacy Center group, other donors and grants help provide many of its amenities. From individuals to organizations as large as the Chicago Bears, the agency has received funding for expansions and an $80,000 healing garden which was dedicated in 2016 as a place for clients and their families to reflect and find solace. Participate in “Dress in Blue Day” on April 14 to show support to end child abuse and neglect. You can also follow The Children’s Advocacy Center in Instagram @childadctrlakeco and Facebook and share their daily posts throughout April.
Above: Mitchell, informally known as Mitch, is a specially-trained comfort dog who helps put children at ease and often brings smiles to their faces at the Lake County Children’s Advocacy Center. He is taking a break among a bed of blue pinwheels, the symbol for child abuse prevention and the Blue Kids program. At left: Lake County Children’s Advocacy Center Executive Director Carrie Flanigan in one of the center’s interview rooms with comfort dog Mitch. SUBMITTED PHOTOS Hi-Liter
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