Who We Are

Problem: Child Abuse

Each year, many children in the Hill Country have their lives destroyed by abuse. In the past, child victims of abuse were subjected to numerous interviews as information was gathered about their case. Victims were shuttled from agency to agency, often having to recount their traumatic experiences to numerous strangers. The agencies involved did not always communicate effectively, making cooperation difficult at best. Clients were given conflicting information, cases were lost or dropped, and families were falling through the cracks.

Solution: Child Advocacy Center

The Hill Country Children’s Advocacy Center is a child centered, homelike setting where victims of child abuse can be interviewed and where professionals from Child Protective Services, law enforcement, medical and mental health providers, and the District/County Attorney’s Office work together to effectively resolve child abuse cases.

The primary goals of the Hill Country Children’s Advocacy Center are:

• To reduce the trauma to child victims when they must be involved in the criminal justice process,
• To promote emotional healing so victims and non-offending family members can lead healthy and productive lives; and
• To keep our communities safe by holding offenders accountable for their crimes against children.

The once fragmented approach to investigating, prosecuting and treating child abuse in our counties is now a coordinated, collaborative effort to ensure that victims are minimally traumatized by the system, healing is initiated and offenders are held accountable.