History

Each year, child welfare professionals in the District of Columbia receive hundreds of reports of child maltreatment, including allegations of physical assault, sexual molestation, rape, sodomy and homicide. Children and adolescents who are the subjects of reports of abuse and neglect often face a confusing and traumatic journey through the investigative and legal process. When an incident of child abuse is reported, many professionals respond including police, social workers, prosecutors, medical professionals, and a myriad of court personnel. Although each professional plays an important role in the child welfare process, these individuals often duplicate each other’s efforts.

Before the development of the D.C. Children’s Advocacy Center (DCCAC), child and adolescent victims were subjected to repeated interviews, often by agency personnel who had not received the specialized training necessary to elicit reliable information from traumatized children at different developmental levels. Lack of coordination and communication between child welfare professionals also undermined the investigation and prosecution of verifiable reports of child abuse. When this occurred, the child/adolescent's value as a witness in a civil or criminal case was diminished, along with the ability to protect the child/adolescent from future abuse. As a result, the child welfare system that used to exist in the District of Columbia sometimes re-victimized the children and adolescents that it meant to help.

That changed in the 1980s when a National Children’s Advocacy Center Movement started under the leadership of Congressman "Bud" Cramer. As the former District Attorney in Huntsville, Alabama, Bud Cramer started the first Children's Advocacy Center in 1985. Many other jurisdictions followed suit and adopted a multidisciplinary approach to the investigation and prosecution of child abuse allegations. Today, with the help of the National Children’s Alliance, hundreds of Children’s Advocacy Centers have been established across the United States, with new centers opening every year.

The District of Columbia joined the movement in 1994, and the result is the Center that exists today. Safe Shores – The D.C. Children's Advocacy Center was formed as a result of Executive Order No. 94-3 issued by then-Mayor Sharon Pratt Kelly on January 10, 1994. This Order established a D.C. Working Group to initiate a Multidisciplinary Team (MDT) approach to the investigation and prosecution of child abuse cases and to create a District of Columbia Children's Advocacy Center. Initially formed under the auspices of Children’s National Medical Center, the Center uncoupled from Children’s in February 1995 when it obtained status as an independent non-profit 501(c)(3) organization. At the same time, the Working Group secured funding through the Freddie Mac Foundation to salary a Project Coordinator, and on February 14, 1995, Kimberley Shellman was hired as the first CAC staff member. The Working Group later promoted her to the position of Founding Executive Director on September 23, 1995.

Other firsts followed quickly. Additional staff was hired in February 1996; the first Board of Directors met in April 1996; the Center moved into its first child-friendly site on October 8, 1997; and the Center hired its first forensic interviewer and therapist on October 15, 1997.

The DCCAC Today

The DCCAC is a non-profit, private-public partnership that was established to provide a coordinated and child-friendly approach to the investigation and prosecution of civil and criminal child abuse cases in the District of Columbia. The DCCAC currently has eight full-time, three co-located, and three seasonal staff members on site. The DCCAC staff works on a daily basis with a MDT that consists of representatives from local and federal law enforcement, legal, social service, and mental health agencies including the Metropolitan Police Department, the Office of the Attorney General, the United States Attorney’s Office, the Child & Family Services Agency, and Children’s National Medical Center.

The DCCAC facility is designed to provide a warm and welcoming place where children and adolescents can feel safe and supported while waiting for forensic interviews, therapy, court appearances, or placement resolutions. The DCCAC is also designed to serve as a coordinating body for the MDT agencies listed above. The Center's staff facilitates cooperation and coordination among the MDT by providing statistical case tracking, bi-weekly team case reviews to coordinate the civil and criminal investigations, joint forensic interviews, trauma assessments, therapy, and pre-trial support for child victims. The staff also ensures that children receive supervision, meals, clean clothes, crisis intervention and other emergency victim services during the joint investigative process.

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