 Our center, A Child’s Voice Child Advocacy Center, provides forensic interviews, forensic medical examinations, and family support services, including counseling, for victims of abuse in Newton, Walton and surrounding counties. We work through the context of a multidisciplinary team made up of law enforcement, Department of Family and Children's Services, the District Attorney's Office, Mental Health providers, Child Advocacy Center Staff, and school system. This approach ensures that local agencies work together on these complex cases to provide effective, trauma-informed services to all victims of abuse in our counties to allow them to heal from the abuse they have experienced.
As experts in the field of child abuse, we know that sex trafficking can look diferent than most people may think. We have seen cases where children who are trafficked are home in their own beds every night. We have seen cases where children are trafficked by their neighbor, or by their parents. Per Polaris Project, children are far more likely to be trafficked by people they know – including members of their own family. 60% of youth are trafficked by someone they already know, and 52% of traffickers use financial motivation to manipulate victims (Moore, et al). One study (Landers, et. al) found that 86% of trafficking youth were previously victims of child sexual abuse. Moore, et. al found that 88% of trafficking victims were previously exposed to some form of child maltreatment. A third study (Naramore, et. al) found that youth sex trafficking victims had higher Adverse Childhood Experience (ACE) scores, or higher rates of childhood trauma, particularly physical and sexual abuse. Per Polaris Project, “Law enforcement is an important partner in the work but arrests alone will not solve this. Building and supporting strong families and communities will help prevent child sex trafficking before it happens.” To prevent sex trafficking, we need to reduce risk factors. We do this by building strong families and communities, helping children heal from abuse when they have experienced it, and preventing all types of child abuse from occuring in the first place. A Child’s Voice agrees. Many individuals feel stirred to action to combat human trafficking- a vile and unfathomable crime against children. We know that most child abuse occurs close to home. We know that experiences of abuse, neglect, substance abuse, being removed from their home, and running away from home increase a child’s risk for human trafficking. Therefore, we can make the largest impact by working together as a community, in our community. When we support strong families, help children heal from abuse, and empower all adults to protect children, we will reduce human trafficking in our community. A Child’s Voice provides training for the community to educate adults to create strong families and communities .The training programs we offer are backed by state and national organizations. We offer Darkness to Light’s Stewards of Children (sexual abuse prevention, recognition, and response), Prevent Child Abuse Georgia’s Mandated Reporter training (recognizing and reporting all types of abuse),and Prevent Child Abuse Georgia/ Georgia Center for Child Advocacy’s Connections Matter (a connection building, resilience based response to Adverse Childhood Experiences or ACEs). We are available and flexible to provide any of this training to our community. Currently, we can provide all of the training we offer virtually to groups and individuals. If you’re interested in attending one of our trainings or bringing a training to a group of adults you are part of, let us know! Costs and more information, including how to sign up, is on our website at www.achildsvoicecac.org/request. ---------------------------- *In one study (Landers, M., McGrath, K., Johnson, M. H., Armstrong, M. I., & Dollard, N. (2017). Baseline characteristics of dependent youth who have been commercially sexually exploited: findings from a specialized treatment program. Journal of Child Sexual Abuse, 26(6), 692-709.). 86% of comercially exploited youth were previous victims of child sexual abuse. *Moore, J. L., Houck, C., Hirway, P., Barron, C. E., & Goldberg, A. P. (2017). Trafficking experiences and psychosocial features of domestic minor sex trafficking victims. Journal of Interpersonal Violence. Online ahead of print. DOI:10.1177/ 0886260517703373 *Most patients lived at home and/or were accompanied at the evaluation by a parent/guardian. High rates of alcohol or substance use/abuse (92%), being placed in a group home or child protective services (CPS) custody (28%), a history of runaway behavior (60%), and/or exposure to other child maltreatment (88%) were identified. Our data indicated variation in reported trafficking experiences; however, patients commonly reported an established relationship with their trafficker (60%) and recruitment occurred primarily as a result of financial motivation (52%). Patients were prevalently recruited in settings where there were face-to-face interactions (56%), whereas the solicitation of sex-buyers occurred primarily online (92%) *Naramore, R., Bright, M. A., Epps, N., & Hardt, N. S. (2017). Youth arrested for trading sex have the highest rates of childhood adversity: A statewide study of juvenile offenders. Sexual Abuse, 29(4), 396-410. Youth with violations related to sex trafficking had higher rates for each ACE as well as number of ACEs, particularly sexual abuse and physical neglect. These findings have implications for identifying adverse experiences in both maltreated and offending youth as well as tailoring services to prevent re-victimization. We had the honor of working with Will Frampton over the last couple of years as he created videos that showcase our center and our staff. Below you will find Will's thoughts on what he learned from this experience. Thank you for sharing, Will! In fifteen years of broadcasting in four cities across the United States, there were, sadly, some stories that seemed to repeat themselves no matter where I was. In every community I worked — Indiana, South Carolina, California, Georgia — there was no escaping the presence of child abuse.
Those stories were among the ones I dreaded the most, especially in my advancing years of broadcasting, during which time I became a father. But something happened after I made the jump from CBS46 to start my own video and film production company. I began taking on production jobs on behalf of companies and organizations, and through my good friend and Covington Police Captain Ken Malcom, I was introduced to the people of A Child’s Voice Child Advocacy Center in Social Circle. A Child’s Voice (ACV) offers a unique service to the people of Walton and Newton Counties, a first line of support and advocacy following the revelation of possible child abuse within a family. For people in many other rural north Georgia counties, there is no such organization as this; they have to travel an hour or more to Children’s Hospital in Atlanta for what is inevitably a grueling examination and interview process for the child. Never before had I had the chance to see inside an organization such as this, to get to know the people who fuel it with their passion and caring. What struck me first in getting to know the staff was their dedication, their personal investment. For them, this is not just a job, but a mission. “I feel led to do this,” said Lindsey Jones, a Forensic Interview Specialist at ACV. “I love being able to talk to kids, I love being able to help figure out what’s happened to them, because in many cases not anyone else has talked to them about it, or tried to listen to the child. I want to hear from them and allow them to tell what’s happened to them, and empower them to talk about it.” This is what she said during our first interview, in the beginning stages of building a video production package for ACV. Within 20 minutes of that first interview with her and others, I witnessed a passion that gave me a new perspective on the treatment of child abuse. “I feel that God has put me on this planet to do my job,” said Jones, pausing to wipe away tears. In the face of such a difficult circumstance as child abuse, how reassuring must it be for a family to know there are people on the front lines like this? People who approach each week, each day, with a fresh perspective: “we have a chance to help a child who needs our help.” Not to say they don’t endure difficult days and weeks at a time, dealing with cases that are especially painful. Much like EMTs, law enforcement officers, or other people who deal with traumatic, life-changing events on a regular basis, the people of ACV likewise are in a position where they regularly have a direct impact on the rest of a person’s life. It is a real burden to carry. But the staff at ACV take it in stride, focusing on the mission of helping the child right in front of them. “I don’t know that you can ever prepare yourself for what you’ll walk into when you're working in this environment, in this field,” said DeAnna Fort, a Family Advocate. “Everyday you’re going to encounter something different, every case is different. Sometimes you think you know what abuse is, what sexual abuse is, what physical abuse is, and then you experience something totally different from the last case. So every case is different, every experience is different.” In spite of the grim nature of some of cases, there is an overwhelming air of positivity in the office of ACV. Yes, these are some of the lowest moments in the lives of some of these families, but the healing that begins the minute children walk in the door is remarkable. To know there is a professional staff dedicated to listening to, understanding, and empowering children in these times of trouble — and to know this staff is focused on a community that would not otherwise have these services so close to home … is powerful. For the staff at ACV, it’s quite simple: face the problem head-on, as soon as possible, with caring attention. Or if not, the ripple effects ultimately effect the entire community. “If you’re not addressing this, and you’re not paying attention to it when it does happen, making moves to protect a child when something has happened, you’re potentially leaving a child to be hurt even more,” said Lauren Gregory, a Family Advocate. “We talk about where the children have flashbacks, or they can’t sleep, or they’re not developing appropriately. If you don’t treat that, because we don’t want to talk about it, then that just makes it worse for the child.” This practical yet loving approach is what too often is not seen in the media’s day-to-day reporting of child abuse cases. Over a span of 15 years, I covered those stories and rarely had the opportunity to showcase the good people on the other side of the crisis, working to make something out of a terrible situation. It is a great honor now to be able to help tell this story, based around the people of A Child’s Voice. The mission of A Child’s Voice is on-going and ever-evolving. To learn more about their services and how they seek to be a pro-active force for good in the community, visit their website: achildsvoicecac.org.   As National Child Abuse Prevention Month draws to a close, we want to thank everyone who made it a success!
Tune in next year for more ways to support A Child's Voice during April!
 A Child's Voice was selected as the recipient of proceeds from the Bud Wiley Memorial Golf Tournament hosted by Walton EMC. You can read more in this month's Realite newsletter. Thanks, Walton EMC! We are thankful for your support.
On Sunday, A Child's Voice staff and friends enjoyed The Gwinnett Braves game. In recognition of the center being selected as a grant recipient in September 2014, staff members were taken onto the field and presented a check. Thank you to the Gwinnett Braves for a fun day, and for supporting our center!
 Last week, Teressa Swetham and the Young Women's Group from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints brought us bags of blankets and toys to give to children who come to the center. This is the second year that we have received items from this group. These "comfort items" are given to children during their appointments at the center to help them feel safe and comfortable. Thank you to Teressa and all of the young women!
We are thrilled to announce that we have received re-accreditation status through the National Children's Alliance! You can read more about the process and what re-accreditation means in our official press release below. |
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