Children are very special people with very special needs. When children are abused, it is extremely important to find out exactly what happened, as soon as possible, and to do it in a way that children understand. Children must also feel very comfortable.
An abused child will first come to the center to be interviewed by a person specially trained to talk to them. The person who conducts the interview of the abused child is sensitive to, experienced, and edcuated in discussing these issues with children to assist in the investigation of the abuse. The interview is so important because every effort is made to limit the number of times an abused child is talked to about the incident, with the goal being only one time, which minimizes further trauma to the child.
The interview is observed by a team of professionals that have been assigned to investigate the abuse. Their observation is conducted away from the child, within another room via closed circuit monitoring, so as not to cause further stress to the child. The team is made up of a law enforcement person, someone from the State's Attorney's Office, someone from DCFS if needed, someone from mental health services if requested, and anyone else that the team feels will be able to help the child.
Second, the child and their family will meet with an Advocate, another specially trained person, who will assist them in finding just the right services to help heal the pain that has occurred and help keep the family together. The Advocate assists or acts on behalf of the child. This is done by representing the needs and interests of the child, and their family, to those professionals the child comes into contact with because of the abuse. Also, the Advocate acts like a "bridge" between the child, their family, and the many professionals working to investigate and to provide treatment for the child. The Advocate can help the child and their family by teaching them about what everyone is doing to help. The child will never be alone.
The staff of the Dani-Brandon Center for Children will make sure that the child and their family is referred to local service providers as needed. While working to make appropriate referrals for services, the staff will always be available to the child and family should the need arise to answer any questions or discuss any problems they may have. Further, the staff will also be able to help the child and family with some transportation assistance to treatment providers if necessary, and to explore financial assistance to pay service providers.
