photo by: Austin Hornbostel/Journal-World

Executive Director Bev Turner opens a closet at the Children’s Advocacy Center of Douglas County to reveal plenty of comfort items for children to take home after completing a daunting task like sitting for a forensic interview.

A year after beginning operation, the Children’s Advocacy Center of Douglas County is more committed than ever to its mission of addressing child abuse as a community issue.

“At its core, the CAC is about teamwork and about putting the needs of the child victim first,” said Jennifer Hansen, who is the chair of the nonprofit’s board and a child abuse pediatrician at Children’s Mercy Hospital.

The nonprofit, which takes a multidisciplinary approach to identifying, investigating and treating abuse, opened in February 2021. Bev Turner, the executive director, joined the team at that time, after having served 15 years with Shawnee’s Children’s Advocacy Center, Sunflower House. The Douglas County center worked with its first family two months later, in April.

Hansen said a few efforts to start a nonprofit like this one had arisen over the years, but they never took hold. The process this time around started with co-founders Paula Martin, a former Douglas County judge, and Wint Winter Jr., a Lawrence attorney and former state lawmaker, in November 2019, Hansen said, and “really got rolling” during the spring of 2020. It was a product of getting “the right people at the table at the right time,” she said.

Since then, the center has worked with a list of 11 partner agencies, including entities like the Lawrence, Eudora and Baldwin City police departments and Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City, Missouri, as well as local health professionals, child protective services, prosecutors and family court attorneys. The partners meet monthly to review cases and exchange information.

Hansen said the partners responded to abuse cases at the very beginning of an investigation, which allowed for better communication and for sharing of information that is critical to bridging “the gaps” and making informed decisions about a case.

The center also provides advocacy services for children and families, Hansen said. Each family works with an advocate whose only job is to promote the best interests of the child and the family. That can include ongoing crisis assessment and intervention, as well as help in identifying a child’s and family’s unique needs, reducing their fears and connecting them to other services they may need.

The center has a space where law enforcement can conduct forensic interviews with child-abuse victims. The comfortable setting can ease the anxiety that children typically feel during that process, said Turner, the director.

photo by: Austin Hornbostel/Journal-World

The office space at the Children’s Advocacy Center of Douglas County aims to foster a warm, welcoming environment for children and families. The office also features six pieces of wall art produced by teenagers at Van Go.

The center also has its own trained forensic interviewer, Sidney Lawyer.

Turner said she and Lawyer would meet with the child’s caregiver to explain the process, talk about mental health resources or medical exams and, above all, help them “take a deep breath” and get an idea of what will happen next, Turner said. They can also appear in court with families.

“As a parent, I can’t imagine how scary it would be to maybe not know the full story, to be coming in and not knowing what’s going to happen next, and especially recognizing (the abuser’s) usually someone close to you,” Turner said. “That’s a very intimidating process, and we really don’t want families to feel that way.”

Ultimately, it’s about “what’s best for the child,” Turner said, and about reducing their trauma. The center’s office at 2518 Ridge Court — with comfortable furniture, plenty of toys and colorful art — reflects that concern.

Turner said a next step for the nonprofit would be seeking funding for an in-house therapist, which would help circumvent a sometimes long waiting period for therapists.

A year on, both Turner and Hansen said they felt like their work has made a difference for families. Hansen said she had put in plenty of after-hours effort in getting the nonprofit to the point it’s at today, and it’s been well worth it.

“I really could not be happier with how this has turned out, and even the timeline … it all sort of fell into place pretty seamlessly, pretty quickly, and I feel that we are providing an amazing service to kids and families in Douglas County that wasn’t available a year ago,” Hansen said.

The center doesn’t have many needs, Turner said, but people interested in helping out are always welcome to donate new stuffed animals for the office’s “comfort items” closet. For more information about ways to help or get involved as a volunteer, contact Turner by phone at 785-592-3160 or by email at bev@cacdouglas.org.