Our Goal:
Help people who come through our doors embark on the healing process and build resiliency.
Mission:
Justice, empowerment, education and support for families on the path toward healing.
The Child and Family Advocacy Center of South Central Minnesota provides a safe, neutral, child-friendly environment for children who experience trauma and violence. We feel all who experience trauma and abuse have a right to be safe, to seek justice and to heal.
The Child and Family Advocacy Center of South Central Minnesota seeks to minimize further trauma for victims of abuse and works with a multidisciplinary team made up of public and private agencies involved with the investigation, prosecution, medical evaluation and advocacy services for children and their non-offending caregivers. We also offer support and education opportunities for our multidisciplinary team partners who work with children or investigate child abuse allegations. The benefits of multidisciplinary team collaboration include:
- Provide a neutral, fact-based, non-traumatizing interview performed by a specifically trained forensic interviewer that is observed by the investigation team to minimize the need for multiple interviews.
- Children are four times more likely to receive medical evaluations and mental health therapy when they are helped by a child advocacy center.
The Child and Family Advocacy Center of South Central Minnesota offers:
- A fully equipped forensic interview room
- Photographic examination equipment for medical evaluations with Mayo doctors at Mayo Health Systems – Eastridge
- Crisis support and referrals for children and families
- Work with multidisciplinary team to ensure the safety of victims and their families
- A neutral advocate who can offer the following services at no cost:
- Support
- Education
- Referrals to community resources
- A voice for the family
Core values
Person-centered
Collaborative
Integrity
Healing
Diversity
Learning