[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 164 (Friday, November 30, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2186]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             MAKING SURE PAINFUL STORIES ARE TOLD JUST ONCE

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. SAM JOHNSON

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                       Friday, November 30, 2001

  Mr. SAM JOHNSON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, it is important for me to 
bring this informative article to the attention of the U.S. Congress.

                [From the New York Times, Nov. 12, 2001]

             Making Sure Painful Stories Are Told Just Once

                          (By Donna Wilkinson)

       Name: Collin County Children's Advocacy Center.
       Founded: 1992, in Plano, Tex.
       Mission: To help children cope with the trauma of abuse 
     through a team approach--an alliance of law enforcement 
     agencies, child protection services, legal and medical 
     professionals--to investigate, treat and prosecute abuse 
     cases.
       Constituency: Children under 18. Collin County, including 
     several suburban and rural communities outside Dallas, has a 
     population of about 500,000. Last year, the center received 
     2,488 referrals of child abuse; since it opened, it has 
     served 8,000 children.
       Financing: Most of the $1.4 million annual budget comes 
     from charities, foundations and corporations: the United Way, 
     Meadows Foundation, Jenesis Foundation, B. B. Owen Trust, 
     Texas Instruments and State Farm Insurance. The rest is from 
     the Guardian Angels Society, a local group of individuals and 
     religious and civic organizations who pledge $1,000 a year 
     for five years.
       The center was inspired by the ideas of Representative Bud 
     Cramer, Democrat of Alabama, who, as a district attorney in 
     Huntsville in the 1980's, found that children were being 
     revictimized by a system that was intended to protect them. 
     Often bounced from one agency to another, youngsters had to 
     repeat painful experiences to police, doctors, social workers 
     and others, compromising evidence and traumatizing them 
     again. Representative Cramer had proposed creating one 
     central place where children could tell their stories.
       Besides filling that role, the center, which is located in 
     a colorful 32,000-square-foot former supermarket, provides 
     the children with immediate access to child protection 
     services, law enforcement officials, district attorneys, 
     sexual assault nurse examiners, therapists and community 
     resource representatives who all work together under one 
     roof.
       Attending to young victims requires special considerations. 
     ``Almost 70 percent of the children we see are under the age 
     of 7,'' said Jane Donovan, the center's community educator. 
     ``When you ask a child that age a story over and over, the 
     story changes.'' To protect the integrity of testimony for 
     evidence, each child is interviewed by a forensic specialist 
     and videotaped.
       What distinguishes the center is the partnerships among 
     various services. ``Traditionally, there has been some 
     contentiousness between child protective agencies and law 
     enforcement,'' Ms. Donovan said. ``At our center, that just 
     flat out doesn't exist.''
       The center is not a residential facility, but placement is 
     arranged when a child's safety at home is in question.
       ``We talk to our kids about `stranger danger,' but the 
     reality is, 96 percent of the children we see know their 
     abuser,'' Ms. Donovan said. ``Our goal is to help children 
     deal with the trauma of abuse by empowering them to become 
     survivors rather than remain victims.''

     

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