Roanoke, VA, December 1, 2020 – Children’s Trust announced today the Twin County Community Foundation has awarded $10,000 to the Children’s Advocacy Center in Roanoke. The grant will enable Children’s Trust to add a CAC location within the Twin County community at Joy Ranch which will allow staff to see and be a part of the community, have a well-rounded understanding of services available, and strengthen trust and our collaborations within the community. In addition, having a CAC location closer to home would allow Twin County investigators to spend less time on the road, and more time working cases to keep kids safe. Children’s Trust is a non-profit organization encompassing four programs that provide prevention, intervention and advocacy for children who are victims of child abuse and neglect.
The Children’s Advocacy Center (CAC) at Children’s Trust coordinates a community response to child abuse bringing together the people and services a child needs during the investigation and prosecution of cases, provides an environment that is safe and child friendly, and ensures that every child gets the help he/she needs to heal physically and mentally.
Forensic interviewing services are an essential element of the CAC model, where an abused child often tells his/her experiences for the first time at the center. Children’s Trust employs a full-time interviewer who is specially trained to conduct developmentally appropriate, legally sound interviews with children who are alleged to have been abused. Interviewers are trained to put the child at ease while asking difficult questions and taking care to protect the value of the child’s report as evidence of a crime. The forensic interview is non-duplicative, non-leading and neutral in nature.
The Twin County Community Foundation provides opportunities to improve healthcare in Carroll County, Grayson County and the City of Galax in Virginia including meeting unmet healthcare needs of indigent and uninsured; supporting healthcare education programs and supporting programs which have the primary purpose of preventing and reducing illness and disease and other programs to promote the health, education and welfare of the community.
