Children’s Advocacy Center

Take a tour of the Saginaw County’s Children’s Advocacy Center

The Children’s Advocacy Center is an accredited member of the National Children’s Alliance. For more information on NCA go to www.nca-online.org.

Before the Children’s Advocacy Center (CAC) opened, the investigative process of child abuse could be very traumatic. The child may have been interviewed by as many as five different professionals, in as many different places, even the back seat of a police car. In addition, children’s medical exams were often done at the emergency room, by physicians who weren’t specially trained in these types of examinations of children.

This all changed for both Bay and Saginaw counties, with the addition of  the Children’s Advocacy Centers. The child now is interviewed in a friendly atmosphere by a specially trained forensic interviewer (click here for Children’s Advocacy Center brochure). The Center also has a care coordinator who assists the family through the process.

» CAC Visit Brochure
» Examination Brochure
» Recommended Readings

The Children’s Advocacy Center provides a place for all the professionals involved in the investigation to gather and observe the child’s interview through a closed circuit television system or an one way mirror.  In addition, the Saginaw County CAC has a medical examination room and a specially trained medical staff who perform the medical exams for all situations, for both Bay and Saginaw counties. The goal of the CAC is to coordinate investigative efforts in a child friendly environment, which increases safety and minimizes trauma to children and their families.