Impact of Texas CACs
Children’s advocacy centers (CACs) serve as the first stop for children who have experienced sexual abuse, severe physical abuse, or who have witnessed a violent crime. CACs provide a trauma-informed, child-friendly environment where the CAC and their multidisciplinary team partners can share information and develop effective, coordinated strategies to meet the needs of each case and child. It is the goal of all local CACs to reduce trauma to child abuse victims and their families by offering six core services:
The Texas network of 71 CACs now officially serve 211 counties where 98% of the Texas population resides. In fiscal year 2020, 61,891 children received critical services at a Texas children's advocacy center, including:
- 40,786 children received a forensic interview
- 60,493 families received family advocacy services
- 23,231 children and 9,983 adults benefited from mental health services
- 7,627 children received medical evaluations
- 33,330 cases were reviewed by the multidisciplinary team
- 251,147 Department of Family and Protective Serivces reports of abuse and neglect were reviewed
Click here for more information about the Texas CAC network.
Before CACs Were Here
If your child made an outcry of abuse, wouldn’t you want the investigation, prosecution and intervention services to be handled in a manner sensitive to the needs of your child? Prior to children’s advocacy centers, a child’s outcry of abuse didn’t necessarily mean the hurt was over.
Due to the complex nature of these cases, our systems require the involvement of many different professionals to investigate, prosecute and intervene. Historically, information was not routinely shared, efforts were rarely coordinated, and obtaining successful outcomes for these child victims was virtually impossible.
