our charities : PC CHILD ADVOCACY CENTER
For PC ’ s Children
By MARSHA BROWN
PCT ’ s Second Annual Horizon Awards Gala Recognizes The Community ’ s Top 10 Most Extraordinary Young People . Ticket Proceeds Will Go To Benefit the Parker County Child Advocacy Center , Set To Open This Spring .
MARCH 2018 PARKER COUNTY TODAY
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Until last year , Parker County was
Texas ’ largest county operating without a child advocacy center — hardly a prestigious distinction .
A handful of local community leaders decided to change all of that . They formed a non-profit organization , and began raising funds to finance its efforts . Among them was Sheriff Larry Fowler , business leader Jerry Durant , County Attorney John Forrest Jr . and Assistant District Attorney Jeff Swain .
At the start , Sheriff Fowler contributed $ 50,000 from his office ’ s seized assets to kick-off the effort .
What exactly does a Child Advocacy Center do ?
“ The center is there to help kids who have been abused get their story out in a child-friendly environment so that law enforcement will know what has happened to them ,” said Swain , who is also spokesman for the Parker County Child Advocacy Center . “ We start the case with the kids in a childfriendly environment . Then we take it forward all the way through counseling . Our goal is to try to get the kids to a place of healing and to get some justice for them .”
“ One of the most important things is the forensic interview ,” Board President Dedra Vick said . “ It ’ s important that the child be interviewed by someone that ’ s not from law enforcement and not from CPS ( Child Protective Services ), not prosecution . It ’ s important to make it the least traumatic as possible for that child without the child having to tell their story over and over and over .”
Here ’ s Why We Chose Them .
The organization expects to accommodate more than 300 children in the first year of operation , beginning this spring .
According to Vick , PCCAC has made great strides in a short amount of time and is nearly a year ahead of the typical new child advocacy center , largely because of the efforts of the highly motivated board and enthusiastic support of the community .
The board has named Parker County native Cheryl Bullock as executive director . Bullock has always worked with children ; her family owned and operated a day care , she was an educator with Weatherford ISD for nine years , and after earning her master ’ s degree , spent four years working as a school counselor in the alternative education program at Weatherford ISD . After opening a private practice as a counselor , Bullock worked for six years with children dealing with trauma and abuse .
“ I worked for foster agencies with court systems , where I gained an understanding of what an advocacy center does ,” Bullock said . “ I knew that we needed one because my clients had to go to Palo Pinto or Tarrant or Hood County for their forensic interview .”
Forensic Interviewer Brittany Norman recently joined the staff of the PCCAC . She brings three years of experience in her field and was formerly with Paluxy River Children ’ s Advocacy Center in Granbury . “ It was a happy mistake . I needed an internship and the center needed an interviewer . I love what I do and can ’ t imagine doing anything else . Eventually , I ’ d like to go to the FBI or the Office of Homeland Security and interview for them .”
Here ’ s how it works : The forensic interviewer interviews the children referred by CPS or law enforcement after a child makes an outcry of abuse and the investigation is opened . The investigators will observe the interview from a separate room , in order to avoid extra trauma to the child .
The advocacy center is now operating out of the building that formerly housed the Parker County Attorney ’ s Office at West Oak and South Waco Street but has plans to build on property Durant donated for that purpose . The land is located next to the nonprofit off Clear Lake Drive , next to the new Center of Hope complex , according to Vick . The board anticipates beginning construction on a 4,100-square-foot children ’ s advocacy center later this year . The cost is estimated at about $ 600,000 .
Locating investigators and interviewers under the same roof will promote better communication as the different agencies work together on the child abuse cases .
Funded largely through grants , the child advocacy center board hopes to offer counseling for children , teenagers and families to help them move past the trauma they ’ ve experienced . People have pledged , money , building materials and their time as well as their labor to help with the building effort . “ We need all the communities ’ support we can get ,” Vick said .