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Child Abuse Forensic Interviewing
Comtrea's Children's Advocacy Center of East Central Missouri
(CAC) is a community based collaboration which opened
its doors in November of 2000 to better serve children named as
victims of serious child abuse and neglect. We accomplish this
through videotaped forensic interviewing, sexual abuse forensic
examinations, victim advocacy, mental health referrals, education
regarding serious child abuse and collaboration among agencies
and professionals.
We serve an eleven county region including: Jefferson, Crawford,
Franklin, Gasconade, Phelps, Osage, St. Francois, Ste. Genevieve,
Washington, Madison, and Iron counties. We provide services at
two locations: Desoto and Sullivan.
Children are referred by law enforcement agencies or the Division
of Family Services. An interview is held in a child-friendly environment.
The videotaped session is viewed on a closed circuit television
by a multi-disciplinary team consisting of the law enforcement
agency and Division of Children's Services and, when possible,
a prosecuting attorney. The child and the family are made aware
of the hidden camera and the reason for videotaping. A copy of
the videotape is given to the law enforcement agency for evidence.
Copies of the report summary are forwarded to the multi-disciplinary
team members. The De Soto office
has the capability of conducting a SAFE/CARE exam (Sexual Abuse
Forensic Examination). We provide evaluations to over 30 children
per month.
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