NCJ Number
202348
Date Published
2002
Length
22 pages
Annotation
This document presents the annual report for the Children’s Advocacy Center (CAC), located in Texas, in Fiscal Year 2002.
Abstract
Children’s Advocacy Centers provide for the coordination of efforts among professionals involved in investigating and prosecuting crimes committed against children. The centers ensure enhanced communication and collaboration and a child-sensitive approach that results in the prosecution of individuals found guilty of committing these crimes. More than 24,800 individual children received services at CAC during 2002. The gender breakdown of the children served was 67 percent female and 33 percent male. The most prominent category of victimization was sexual abuse (69 percent), followed by at-risk (11 percent) and physical abuse (10 percent). The ethnicity breakdown of the children served was 44 percent White, 35 percent Hispanic, and 15 percent Black. Most children were in the age 6 to 12-category (49 percent), followed by age 0 to 5 (29 percent) and age 13 to 17 (21 percent). The relationships of alleged offenders to child victims were natural-parent (29 percent), other relative (23 percent), individual known but unrelated (22 percent), and step-parent (9 percent). The age breakdown of alleged offenders was 80 percent adults and 20 percent juveniles. The gender breakdown of alleged offenders was 83 percent males and 17 percent females. The primary services of the CAC were interviewing children, on-site and off-site medical exams for children, on-site and off-site mental health services for children, and on-site and off-site mental health services for adults. Additional services included justice systems/case information, crime victim compensation assistance, referral to social service agencies, trial preparation, and court accompaniment. Two new programs were launched as of September 1, 2002, bringing the total number of Texas CAC's to 52.