Spotlight On

Mission:
Safe Shores' mission is to ensure the safety, health and well-being of abused and traumatized children in the District of Columbia by uniting the strengths of public, private and community partners.

Background:
Safe Shores - The D.C. Children's Advocacy Center (DCCAC) is a non-profit, private-public partnership. Through its child-friendly facility and multidisciplinary team (MDT) approach, Safe Shores coordinates the work of social workers, law enforcement, prosecutors, and medical and mental health professionals. Before the development of Safe Shores, child and adolescent victims were subjected to repeated interviews, often by agency personnel who had not received the specialized training necessary to elicit reliable information from traumatized children at different developmental levels. Lack of coordination and communication between child welfare professionals also undermined the investigation and prosecution of verifiable reports of child abuse. When this occurred, the child/adolescent's value as a witness in a civil or criminal case was diminished, along with the ability to protect the child/adolescent from future abuse. As a result, the child welfare system that used to exist in the District of Columbia sometimes re-victimized the children and adolescents that it meant to help.

That changed in the 1980s when a National Children's Advocacy Center Movement started under the leadership of Congressman "Bud" Cramer. As the former District Attorney in Huntsville, Alabama, Bud Cramer started the first Children's Advocacy Center (CAC) in 1985. Many other jurisdictions followed suit and adopted a multidisciplinary approach to the investigation and prosecution of child abuse allegations.

The District of Columbia joined the movement in 1994, and the result is the Center that exists today. Safe Shores - The D.C. Children's Advocacy Center was formed as a result of Executive Order No. 94-3 issued by then-Mayor Sharon Pratt Kelly on January 10, 1994. This Order established a D.C. Working Group to initiate a Multidisciplinary Team (MDT) approach to the investigation and prosecution of child abuse cases and to create a District of Columbia Children's Advocacy Center. Initially formed under the auspices of Children's National Medical Center, the Center uncoupled from Children's in February 1995 when it obtained status as an independent non-profit 501(c)(3) organization. At the same time, the Working Group secured funding through the Freddie Mac Foundation to salary a Project Coordinator, and on February 14, 1995, Kimberley Shellman was hired as the first DCCAC staff member. The Working Group later promoted her to the position of Founding Executive Director on September 23, 1995.

Safe Shores sees 800 child victims of abuse and witnesses to violence annually in its current 3400 square foot facility, which is designed to provide a warm and welcoming place where children and adolescents can feel safe and supported while waiting for forensic interviews, therapy, court appearances, or placement resolutions. Safe Shores is also designed to serve as a coordinating body for the MDT agencies, including the Metropolitan Police Department, the Office of the Attorney General, the United States Attorney's Office, the Child & Family Services Agency, and Children's National Medical Center for the investigation and prosecution of civil and criminal child abuse cases in the District of Columbia. In addition, Safe Shores' staff also ensures that children receive supervision, meals, clean clothes, crisis intervention, trauma assessments, therapy and other emergency victim services during the joint investigative process.

Current Programs:
Safe Shores' programs and services focus on reducing trauma to child victims of abuse, whether through direct service support for children and their families, community outreach for prevention of child abuse, or MDT advancement and support. Specifically, its programs include:

• Forensic Services: Safe Shores offers two services through its Forensic Services Program: 1) the forensic interview, and 2) the forensic evaluation (or extended forensic interview). The main goal of the Forensic Interview Program mirrors the overall goal of the DCCAC: to minimize and reduce trauma experienced by child and adolescent victims of sexual and physical abuse in connection with the investigative and prosecutorial processes. Therefore, the interview program makes every effort to reduce the number of interviews a child needs to undergo regarding the same allegation of abuse.
• Victim Services: Safe Shores offers a variety of resources to support child and adolescent victims in crisis, with programs including: the Youth Activity Program, the Clothes Closet, the Meal Fund, and the Emergency Child & Adolescent Victim Crisis Fund. The purpose of the Victim Services/Assistance Program is to ensure that the immediate basic needs of child victims and their families are met. Disbursement of emergency funds from any of its programs is discretionary, with awards made according to need and resource availability. The goal is not to duplicate the services that are already in place, but rather, to fill the gaps that may arise from an overwhelmed system.
• Therapy: Safe Shores believes that child victims of sexual and physical abuse need comprehensive evaluation and treatment, and that these vital specialized services should be accessible regardless of ability to pay. The Therapy Program provides assessment, treatment, and referral services for child victims. A child therapist will meet with a child for six to eight sessions to assess the impact of the abuse on the child and provide treatment recommendations, which may include additional sessions with the therapist. Also, it is normal for parents/caretakers to feel shocked and overwhelmed when confronting a child's abuse. The therapist can also provide clinical insight to caretakers and professionals as well as community resource information.
• Prevention: Several Safe Shores staff members have been trained as facilitators in Darkness to Light's Stewards of Children prevention curriculum. Stewards of Children is a comprehensive, evidence-based sexual abuse prevention training program that educates adults to prevent, recognize, and react responsibly to child sexual abuse.
• MDT Advancement and Support: Safe Shores provides a place where those District of Columbia Government agencies charged with responding to child abuse can come together to share information, gather facts, and assist child abuse victims through a multidisciplinary team (MDT) approach. Team Case Management at the DCCAC involves two main programs: Joint Interview Program and Case Review Program. Further, Safe Shores recognizes the importance of supporting MDT professionals through training, and acts as a facilitator through both in-house trainings and through its scholarship program.

Funding Needs:
In addition to general operating and direct service/program support, Safe Shores would greatly benefit from support for its upcoming move to a much-needed larger facility, which will enable it to extend the length, depth and breadth of its connection to a growing number of child victims of abuse.

The "Spotlight On" highlights the activities of a different 501(c)3 nonprofit organization serving the Metropolitan Washington, DC community. The selection of organizations for the "Spotlight On" is based on criteria such as programmatic interests, geographic focus, and size, to ensure the broadest possible representation of the region's nonprofit sector.

If you'd like to see your NPO in the "Spotlight," e-mail a description of your organization, following the above format, to dclibrary@foundationcenter.org, with "Spotlight Submission" in the subject line.