[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 18]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 25918]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



IN HONOR OF ELLEN COKINOS ON THE OCCASION OF HER RECEIVING THE DIRECTOR 
  OF THE FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION'S COMMUNITY LEADERSHIP AWARD

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. KEN BENTSEN

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, November 1, 2000

  Mr. BENTSEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor Ellen Cokinos, Founder and 
Executive Director of Houston's Children's Assessment Center, on the 
occasion of her receiving the Director's Community Leadership Award 
from the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Ellen Cokinos, through her 
leadership and unwavering commitment to protect the most defenseless in 
our community--children, deserves to be held up as a national role 
model.
  For nearly a decade, Ellen Cokinos and the Children's Assessment 
Center have conducted a ``quite revolution'' in the treatment of child 
sexual abuse. Under Ellen Cokinos' direction, the Children's Assessment 
Center has set the standard for creating child-friendly intervention 
systems for sexually abused children by developing a comprehensive, 
coordinated team approach that draws from both the public and private 
sector. Ellen Cokinos has led a movement to change the way government 
agencies deal with sexually abused children by instituting a multi-
disciplinary approach to the prevention, assessment, investigation, and 
treatment of child sexual abuse.
  An internationally-recognized expert in her field, Ellen Cokinos 
deserves praise for her role in educating the larger community about 
violence prevention through establishing programs to foster greater 
awareness of child sexual abuse. I have had the great privilege of 
working with Ellen Cokinos on initiatives to promote the health and 
safety of Houston's children. The impact of the Children's Assessment 
Center, Ellen Cokinos' brainchild, reaches well beyond the more than 
38,000 children it has served. This award is recognition of the 
invaluable contribution Ellen Cokinos has made to bringing about a 
fundamental change in how abused children are treated.
  Mr. Speaker, as one who has worked closely with Ellen Cokinos, I know 
what she is a child advocate without equal and one of our community's 
great leaders. Therefore, Mr. Speaker, I rise with great pleasure to 
honor Ellen Cokinos, on the occasion of her receiving the FBI's 
Director's Community Leadership Award.

                          ____________________