Programs

Making a Difference with Collaboration and Team Work.

Our Multidisciplinary Team (MDT) is made up of members of law enforcement agencies within Comal County, the Department of Family and Protective Services, the District Attorney’s Office, medical professionals, crisis advocates, residential treatment centers, community advocates, and CACCC staff.

At the CACCC, one of our roles on the MDT is to coordinate joint investigations in child abuse cases while also facilitating collective case reviews as a way to encourage collaboration throughout the entire process.

Studies show that when we work together on these types of cases, the outcomes for the children and families are better.

Empathetic Care, Support and Connection.

Our Family Advocates are the first contact a child and family will have when they arrive for their appointment at the CACCC.

Families are made to feel welcomed and at ease during a chaotic and frightening time. They are provided with information about the process and given valuable and necessary community resources needed to begin the healing process.

Family advocates also help connect families with those who are working on their cases.

Forensic interviews are neutral, child friendly interviews provided for children who may have experienced abuse or witnessed a violent crime and are designed to be a child's first official statement about what happened to them.

These interviews are conducted by trained professionals who specialize in asking questions in a developmentally sensitive, non-leading manner to allow a child to make a statement in their own words.

Our Forensic Interviewers work with our MDT investigative partners to maintain the integrity of a child's statement by reducing the number of times they are questioned and gathering crucial information for the investigation.

This process reduces stress and trauma for the child and their family and saves valuable time and resources during the investigation.

Chronic Forensic Medical Exams in a Child Friendly Environment.

Sexual Assault Forensic Exam or SAFE is a specific type of examination performed by a specialized RN called a SANE (Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner).

This type of provider is able to collect evidence, testify in court and advocate for the health and continued well-being of the child.

Here at the CACCC, children are able to receive medical services during this type of exam as well as reassurance from a medical provider.

During a SAFE, CACCC staff provide comfort, safety, privacy, support, and advocacy, all in a child-friendly environment.

Child Sex Trafficking? Yes, it does happen in Comal County.

This is a specialized team within our main MDT that provides a collaborative approach to the intricate nature of Child Sex Trafficking.

Our Care Coordinator works to ensure that collective staffing and information sharing is moving on a continual basis for each trafficking victim we work with.

The purpose of the Comal County Child Sex Trafficking Team is to protect, recognize, recover, support healing, and bring justice for children who are victims of child sex trafficking.

The overall goal of the Child Sex Trafficking Team is to help protect children from sexual exploitation, help the public recognize signs of sexual exploitation, help victims recover, restore their sense of well-being and bring justice to those who exploit children.

When there is a Child Death in our community, we ask how, why, and what’s next.

Our Child Fatality Review Team (CFRT) is comprised of members of law enforcement agencies within Comal County, the Department of Family and Protective Services, the District Attorney’s Office, various medical professionals, crisis advocates, residential treatment centers, community advocates, mental health providers, local school district representatives, and CACCC staff.

The purpose of the CFRT is to comprehensively review child deaths that occur in Comal County to are looking for ways to prevent future deaths. We also connect the community with prevention services that could minimize risk factors The CFRT discusses any postvention services that can be offered to the families affected by these deaths.

This collaborative approach allows us to review what deadly trends are happening in our community and how best to respond to, educate, and potentially eliminate those threats to our children.

Trauma can cause a ripple in the life of a child. Counseling at the CACCC can help to slow the ripple and give the child and their family hope for healing to begin.

The CACCC provides a safe place for children and their families to begin the healing process after experiencing abuse or neglect. CACCC counselors work together with each family to determine the best treatment options for the family. Utilizing Trauma Focused – Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT) with the child and their non-offending caregiver to help them manage trauma reminders and other stressors while restoring a sense of hopefulness. Services are provided at no charge to the families.

Trauma affects not just the child but the whole family. By providing counseling services to children and their families we aim to help families cope with the trauma.

Therapy teaches children that they are not alone.

Speak Up, Break the Silence: Prevent Child Abuse.

At the CACCC, we use a prevention program called Darkness to Light (D2L) that focuses on teaching adults in a community how to keep children safer from sexual abuse. The CACCC is certified with D2L facilitators on staff that offer various programs designed by Darkness to Light including Stewards of Children and beyond. The CACCC is able to offer other trainings tailored to community needs along with:

  • Recognize and Reporting
  • The realities of child abuse and its effects on our communities
  • Definitions of child abuse as determined by law
  • Recognize the signs and symptoms of child abuse
  • How to properly respond to a disclosure of abuse
  • Texas reporting laws

Creating Stronger Communities Through Outreach.

CACCC staff are available to provide presentations on topics related to child abuse and the Children’s Advocacy Center concept. These efforts increase community awareness on the prevalence of child abuse as well as how to identify and report abuse. Increased awareness and reporting leads to more timely and successful intervention.
 
Donate Today Child Abuse Information

Prevention

At the CACCC, we use a prevention program called Darkness to Light: Stewards of Children (D2L) that focuses on teaching adults in a community how to keep children safer from sexual abuse. Our trained facilitator, Shannon Dixon (Director of Outreach) is available to help parents, groups, organizations and clubs learn how to better prevent abuse from happening.

  1. LEARN THE FACTS OF ABUSE. 1 in 4 girls and 1 in 6 boys will be sexually abused by the time they turn 18. (1 in 10 of those children will be sexually abused involving physical contact.)
  2. MINIMIZE OPPORTUNITY. Eliminate or reduce isolated, one-on-one situations to decrease risk for abuse.
  3. TALK ABOUT IT. Have open, age appropriate conversations with children about our bodies, sex and boundaries.
  4. RECOGNIZE THE SIGNS. Know the signs of abuse to protect children from further harm.
  5. REACT RESPONSIBLY. Understand how to respond to risky behaviors and suspicions or reports of sexual abuse.

At every training, adults will be given useful, practical information on how to keep children safer and organizations will learn how to implement policies that will show they take preventing child abuse seriously. Samples and suggestions will be given to creating an organizational Code of Conduct.

Code of Conduct

Please see our Facebook for information on FREE quarterly Darkness to Light Prevention trainings, or call Director of Outreach, Shannon Dixon at (830) 626-2543 ext. 213.