WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Chris Coons (D-Del.) and Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), co-chairs of the Senate Law Enforcement Caucus convened a joint briefing Thursday with Congressmen Ted Poe (R-Texas) and Jim Costa (D-Calif.), co-chairs of the House Victims’ Rights Caucus, on the important role Children’s Advocacy Centers play in supporting law enforcement and victims of child abuse. Diane Klecan, Program Director for Client Services at the Children’s Advocacy Center of Delaware and a trained forensic interviewer, was among the expert panelists.
“Children’s Advocacy Centers ensure that when tragedy strikes, we can deliver justice without harming the healing process,” said Senator Coons. “These centers bring everyone together under one roof – law enforcement, prosecutors, child service professionals, and trained forensic interviewers – to find out what happened in a way that allows the testimony to be used in court. Support for these centers through the Victim’s of Child Abuse Act represents the best of our federal commitment to targeted, effective, and essential assistance to state and local law enforcement, our communities, and our children.”
Diane Klecan, who has conducted more than 2,300 forensic interviews of children at the Children’s Advocacy Center of Delaware, shared how training and assistance funded by the Victims of Child Abuse Act has helped her to successfully and supportively communicate with child victims of neglect, physical and sexual abuse, and other serious crimes.
“The coordinated, multidisciplinary response used by the Children’s Advocacy Center of Delaware and Children’s Advocacy Centers across the United States leads to more efficient utilization of resources while improving our nation’s response to child abuse allegations,” said Diane Klecan, Program Director for Client Services and forensic interviewer at the Children’s Advocacy Center of Delaware. “Funding from the Victims of Child Abuse Act is critical to our mission to protect children, as the training and technical assistance provided through the Act improves the work of forensic interviewers and other frontline professionals throughout the U.S. Without the additional funding provided through VOCAA, states would not receive the support and training so critical to professionals in this field.”
Children’s Advocacy Centers employ a multi-disciplinary team of trained professionals to conduct forensic interviews of children who have been victims of abuse. These interviews are designed to be admissible in court, preventing children from being re-traumatized by having to tell their stories multiple times. In 2012 alone, more than 286,000 children were served at over 800 Children’s Advocacy Centers across the United States, with over 197,000 cases reporting sexual abuse. Their use in child abuse cases saved, on average, more than $1,000 per case in court, child protection, and investigative fees. Delaware is home to three Children’s Advocacy Centers located in Wilmington, Dover, and Georgetown.
Senators Coons and Blunt, along with Senators Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) and Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) introduced legislation in December 2013 to reauthorize and strengthen the Victims of Child Abuse Act. Read more about the bill here: http://1.usa.gov/1fjTb3o
“I am grateful to Diane and all of our panelists for joining today’s discussion and demonstrating the immense value of Children’s Advocacy Centers in our communities,” Senator Coons said.