Agency Details:

CALICO

CALICO's mission is to provide a supportive environment to interview children and facilitate a collaborative response to child abuse in which the needs of children take precedence.

Description:
Since 1997, CALICO, the Child Abuse Listening, Interviewing and Coordination Center, has served as a multi-disciplinary hub for police officers, child welfare workers, and prosecutors to respond collaboratively to child abuse allegations, sensitively elicit children’s testimonies, and link children and families with vital therapeutic, medical and legal support services in Alameda County. CALICO has aided over 7,000 children, most of whom were sexually abused and many of whom were physically hurt, neglected, exploited as prostitutes, living in homes in which drugs are sold, used or manufactured, or witnesses to violence in their homes and communities. As part of a national movement of child advocacy centers, CALICO ensures that children are not re-victimized by the systems designed to protect them and collects high-quality information to aid professionals in making the best decisions about what a child and family need to stay safe and how to hold offenders accountable.

History:
CALICO was established in response to concerns about ineffective child sexual abuse investigations. At that time, few agencies were equipped to deal with allegations, and their responses were uncoordinated and insensitive to the needs of children. When children made disclosures, they were forced to tell their stories in unsuitable environments such as police cars, noisy offices, or their home with the offender in the next room. Now, through CALICO’s leadership, victims are no longer asked to repeat embarrassing details to multiple strangers; they are quickly and effectively connected to medical and mental health services; and their safety needs are less likely to fall through the cracks due to agency miscommunications.

Contact people:

Victoria Gwiasda, Executive Director, (phone), (email) Cory Blasi, Office Manager, (phone), (email)

Office fax number: (510) 895-0706

Address:

524 Estudillo Ave San Leandro, CA 94577 (See a map)

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

Last updated on October 13, 2009