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BRONX, NEW YORK (February 18, 2015) – This February 2015, Safe Horizon, the nation’s largest victim services agency, has opened a new Child Advocacy Center (CAC) in the Bronx, with significant support from Mayor de Blasio’s Administration. This Center will be staffed by experts from Safe Horizon, the Administration for Children’s Services, the New York Police Department, the Bronx District Attorney’s Office, the New York City Law Department and Montefiore Medical Center. Together, this team of experts, with support from the New York State Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS) and the New York State Office of Victim Services, will investigate and respond to the most serious cases of sexual and severe physical child abuse in the Bronx.
The NYC Administration for Children’s Services investigates more than 50, 000 reports of suspected child abuse and neglect every year across New York City. The Child Advocacy Center model is a proven, effective approach to investigating and responding to allegations of severe child abuse and neglect, bringing together various disciplines necessary to the process and helping children heal. It ensures children’s safety, addresses their physical injuries and emotional trauma, and brings abusers to justice. In 2015, The Bronx CAC will see an estimated 2, 000 of the most serious cases of child abuse in the borough. It will likely be one of the CACs with the highest volume in the country.
“Together with our government partners, we’ve realized the vision of having a Child Advocacy Center in every borough. Abused children in all of New York City will now receive the absolute best care available, ” said Safe Horizon CEO Ariel Zwang. The organization will be the only one in the country to operate five CACs in an urban setting- where all responding agencies are under one roof.
New York City’s CACs are places of hope and healing for abused children. Safe Horizon has implemented a brief mental health intervention developed by Yale University Child Study Center, the Child and Family Traumatic Stress Intervention (CFTSI). Over 1, 000 children have completed CFTSI at a Safe Horizon CAC since 2008, resulting in significant reductions of their suffering and traumatic symptoms.
Partners Comment on Opening of the Bronx Child Advocacy Center
Deputy Mayor Lilliam Barrios-Paoli
“The opening of the Bronx Child Advocacy Center brings to fruition the City’s vision that every borough should have a place with a multi-disciplinary team ready to serve child victims of abuse, ” said Deputy Mayor Lilliam Barrios-Paoli. “Child Advocacy Centers help to reduce some of the trauma experienced by these children by bringing together medical personnel, mental health counselors, the Administration for Children Services, the New York City Police Department, and the Bronx District Attorney into one place, where they can work together and coordinate investigations. We are grateful to Safe Horizon and our multiple City partners for their commitment to this most important community resource.”
ACS Commissioner Gladys Carrion
“The opening of the Bronx Child Advocacy Center now ensures that all five boroughs can provide comprehensive assistance for vulnerable children who may be the victims of abuse and violence, “ said ACS Commissioner Gladys Carrion. “The multi-disciplinary teams onsite at the CACs offer medical, legal, and social services assistance and can help reduce some of the trauma of horrifying abuse. We are grateful to Safe Horizon and our City partners for their commitment to this critical community resource.”
Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS) Acting Commissioner Roberto Velez
Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS) Acting Commissioner Roberto Velez said, “OCFS applauds and lends its support to Safe Horizon for addressing the critical need for this Child Advocacy Center in the Bronx. Our agency will continue to be a source of funding for this center, in addition to the state’s other 40 Child Advocacy Centers that serve more than 17, 000 children and respond to child abuse, provide services to victims, and give children who are abused a ray of hope.”
Council Member Vanessa L. Gibson (D-16th District, Bronx)
“Bringing services for child abuse survivors into the communities where they live is critical to providing rapid, comprehensive support and justice to victims of abuse, “ said Council Member Vanessa L. Gibson (D-16th District, Bronx). “With over 30% of the total amount of New York children who have experienced sexual or physical abuse living in the Bronx, the Safe Horizon Bronx Child Advocacy Center has been much needed and will assume a critical role in the healing of countless children and families. I am hopeful that the co-located Child Protective Specialists, SVU detectives and prosecutors, and clinicians help bring victims of abuse out of the shadows and I thank Safe Horizon for their commitment and leadership in providing necessary service for Bronx children and families.”
State Senator Gustavo Rivera
“The opening of the Bronx Child Advocacy Center is a much welcome addition in helping our borough’s fight against child abuse. By bringing together the many elements needed to appropriately help a child who has faced abuse under one roof, we will be better able to provide the resources and care that they need to help them heal and get justice, ” said State Senator Gustavo Rivera. “I commend Safe Horizon, the Administration for Children’s Services, the Bronx District Attorney’s Office and Montefiore Hospital for coming together to help some of the most vulnerable children in our borough.”
Medical Director, Safe Horizon Bronx Child Advocacy Center, Linda Cahill, M.D.
“Montefiore has a long and proud history of providing vital services that help assure the safety and health of children of the Bronx. The new Bronx CAC is a beautiful facility, offering a robust evaluation and treatment program that will prove invaluable to vulnerable children, and we are thrilled to be part of it, ” said Linda Cahill, M.D., Medical Director, JE and ZB Butler Child Advocacy Center, Children’s Hospital at Montefiore.
Executive Director of National Children’s Alliance Teresa Huizar
As stated by Teresa Huizar, Executive Director of National Children’s Alliance, “We are thrilled to see the expansion of the Child Advocacy Center model and to know that more children in need will ultimately be served. As the accrediting body for Child Advocacy Centers, we are committed to working with Safe Horizon and the over 770 other Child Advocacy Centers across the nation to ensure best practices are shared, training and support are provided, and advocacy at the highest level is offered on behalf of children in need.”
Co-developers of Child and Family Traumatic Stress Intervention at Yale University Steven Marans and Carrie Epstein
“Safe Horizon has established a gold standard for serving children and families who have been impacted by the traumatic experience of abuse. With the opening of the Bronx Child Advocacy Center, these outstanding services will be available to children in all five boroughs of the city. We are proud to extend our long-standing collaboration with Safe Horizon so that children seen in the Bronx can benefit from evidence-based mental health treatment that can decrease the potentially long-lasting impact of abuse, “ Steven Marans and Carrie Epstein, co-developers of Child and Family Traumatic Stress Intervention at Yale University, said.
About Safe Horizon
Safe Horizon empowers victims of domestic violence, child abuse, sexual assault and human trafficking to move from crisis to confidence – touching the lives of 250, 000 New Yorkers every year.