The therapeutic family advocates at the Children's Advocacy Center are family-centered professionals who work with families and child abuse victims to provide support, advocacy, and assistance as they navigate the legal and social service systems.

Unlike traditional victim advocates who may focus primarily on providing emotional support and information, a therapeutic family advocate typically has specialized training in trauma-informed care, child development, and family systems. They work closely with families and child abuse victims to help them understand and cope with the trauma of abuse, while also connecting them to appropriate resources and services. To support the family is to better support the needs of the affected child, and the therapeutic component of our advocacy program allows families to process and regulate as needed, from the initial meetings and throughout the entire healing process.

Responsibilities of our therapeutic family advocates include:

• Providing crisis intervention and emotional support to child abuse victims and their families.

• Assisting families with accessing medical and mental health services.

• Providing education and information about the legal process, including court hearings and trials.

• Advocating for the needs and rights of child abuse victims and their families within the legal and social service systems.

• Facilitating communication between families, service providers, and members of the multidisciplinary team.

• Providing ongoing case management and follow-up support to ensure that the needs of the child and family are being met.

Our therapeutic family advocates play an important role in helping child abuse victims and their families to access the services and support they need to heal and recover from the trauma of abuse. Resources include holiday assistance (Holly Jolly Program, Thanksgiving Meals, Back-To-School), baby packs, overnight bags, comfort kits, life packs, food pantry items, all-ages clothing closet, birthday assistance,  counseling referrals, case updates, community referrals, crisis intervention, CVC, VINE, and victim rights information. They work closely with families and child abuse victims to provide ongoing support and advocacy throughout the entire process, from the initial investigation to the resolution of the case.