Baltimore Child Abuse Center

The mission of the Baltimore Child Abuse Center is to provide all reported victims of child sexual abuse and their non-offending caretakers with comprehensive interview, treatment referral and crisis counseling services to give them the tools they need to repair their lives.

Description:
The Baltimore Child Abuse Center(BCAC)is a nationally accredited, award-winning child advocacy center dedicated to helping children who have been sexually abused. It is the only organization of its type in Baltimore City. BCAC serves approximately 900 children and their families annually. No families are charged for any services provided at BCAC.

BCAC is responsible for coordinating the investigation of all reported cases of child sexual abuse in Baltimore City. It is part of a multi-disciplinary team that includes Child Protective Services, the Baltimore Police, and the Baltimore City State's Attorney's Office. This coordination of services eliminates the need for multiple interviews and examinations of the children, thus reducing the emotional stress that an investigation process may have on the child and his/her family. BCAC social workers and psychologists conduct the interviews, while its pediatrician completes forensic medical exams.

In addition to its intervention activities, BCAC is now in the process of launching a child sexual abuse prevention campaign that will provide community-wide education about ways adults can better protect children from sexual abuse.

While associated with Baltimore City public agencies, BCAC is not funded by Baltimore City. It relies heavily on support from individuals and foundations to provide its services.

History:
In 1987, the Children’s Advocacy Network was created by then Baltimore City State’s Attorney Stuart O. Simms through a juvenile justice grant in response to the inhumane and ineffective manner child victims of sexual abuse were being treated. Shortly following the opening of the Children’s Advocacy Network, the Maryland Legislature passed a law requiring joint investigations for all children reported to be the victims of sexual abuse. Up until this time, children who had been sexually abused were subjected to multiple interviews and examinations, often conducted by professionals unfamiliar with the emotional and physical signs of abuse. Children already traumatized by sexual abuse were often further traumatized by the stress of relating their stories to multiple strangers in settings where they didn’t feel safe, i.e. in their homes in close proximity to their abusers, in unfriendly police stations, or in hospital emergency rooms. Unable to secure continued funding for the Network from city agencies, on September 25, 1989 the Baltimore Child Abuse Center was incorporated as a not for profit entity.

The development of the Baltimore Child Abuse Center (BCAC) was a major step in systems reform in Maryland and has become a model for other children’s advocacy programs across the state. BCAC was the third children’s advocacy center (CAC) in the nation, and the first in Maryland. It has successfully demonstrated that child sexual abuse can be addressed sensitively and effectively in a child-friendly atmosphere where only one medical examination and one interview are needed. Each participating agency saves considerable time and money in that BCAC does the schedule, arranges the transportation, conducts and writes the interview, and begins to make treatment referrals on site. The cost of these interviews, and the staff and building which it’s conducted in, are borne by BCAC.

Twenty years later, having seen over 15,000 children, BCAC continues to be a leader protecting children from sexual child abuse. In FY2008, BCAC evaluated and treated more than 900 children and 600 families.

Contact people:

Adam Rosenberg, Executive Director, (phone), (email) Natalie Waters, Program Coordinator, (phone), (email) Mildred Jefferson, Volunteer Coordinator, (phone), (email)

Office fax number: (410) 235-1827

Address:

2300 N. Charles Street Baltimore, MD 21218 (See a map)

Web Site: http://www.BaltimoreChildAbuseCenter.org

Miscellaneous Information

Governmental Agency?
	No

Last updated on July 24, 2009