Blog

While child sexual abuse can take many forms, it is typical for the child (and family) to know the offender. The offender uses this relationship to “groom” the child so that abuse can involve more invasive physical contact over time. This grooming process is not only part of the reason that there is often not… Continue Reading

I’ll never forget the way people used to look at me when I would tell them that we had a successful year at our Children’s Advocacy Center because there was a 25-percent increase in the child sexual abuse cases we saw.  All wide-eyed and somewhat exasperated, their response would sound something like, “More children being… Continue Reading

I’m a millennial. It’s a characterization I balk against for all its negative connotations, but thanks to Mom, Dad, and 1983, I am one. And for all the challenging characteristics of millennials, there’s one I find particularly true of us on the older end of the spectrum—an ingrained belief that the bright-eyed, emerging from college… Continue Reading

Some might say I don’t fit the profile. I don’t work at a Children’s Advocacy Center (CAC), or even in child welfare. I’m not a researcher connecting the dots between child abuse and a host of lifelong problems. I’m not a police officer or a prosecutor. I’m not a survivor of abuse. I’m not a therapist… Continue Reading

At 10 a.m., on July 12, 2016, I was given the chance to use my voice against something that has kept me silent for years. I testified against my grandfather, who took from me my innocence, dignity, and hope. On the stand that day, I wore several pieces of jewelry I received from victims, who endured… Continue Reading

As a concert pianist, I have the opportunity to perform music I love for people all over the world. It is a dream. It is a joy beyond words. But don’t let my smile fool you. My journey has not been without great obstacles, some of which I will face the rest of my life…. Continue Reading

Sometimes I wonder if treatment is considered a four-letter word. Over the past 11 years, I’ve partnered with the Harford County Children’s Advocacy Center here north of Baltimore, providing treatment onsite and offsite through a nonprofit agency as well as a private practice. One of the most difficult tasks is getting a child and his/her… Continue Reading

NCA’s new Standards for Accredited Members call for an initial standardized mental health assessment and periodic re-assessment of children which serve to inform treatment. Every discussion about assessment (or screening) must be prefaced by a definition of what we are screening or assessing. Good practice dictates, and the Standards require, an assessment of other potential traumatic or abusive events,… Continue Reading

When grandparents raise their grandchildren, there is a new word for it.  It’s called a “grandfamily.” And the number of grandfamilies is on the rise—up over 30% in recent years. According to the latest census, 8% of children in Blount County, Ala., (where we operate our Children’s Advocacy Center, the Blount County Children’s Center) are being raised by… Continue Reading

Six years ago, I sat in a room in Chicago with some of my staff, a funder, and a group of mental health providers, contemplating the dilemma we were facing and decided enough was enough. Since the opening of our Children’s Advocacy Center in 2001, we saw a persistent problem: there simply wasn’t enough mental… Continue Reading