The Advocacy Center for Crime Victims and Children’s mission is to promote healing of children and crime victims through advocacy, collaboration, prevention, and treatment.
THE ADVOCACY CENTER FOR CRIME VICTIMS & CHILDREN IS A 501(C)(3) PRIVATE NONPROFIT UMBRELLA AGENCY THAT INCLUDES THE FOLLOWING PROGRAMS:
The Victims Center responds immediately to survivors of violence. While 70% of those served by the program are affected by sexual assault, the agency works with victims of all crimes.
Services provided include a 24- hour crisis hotline to survivors of sexual assault and other violent crimes, sexual assault nurse exams, case management and counseling. Individual, family and group therapy are available. Groups include people who have lost someone to homicide or suicide, women survivors of sexual abuse, teen girls, boys and men.
The Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners (SANE) program is made up of specially trained RNs who are on-call 24/7. They offer compassionate care and support for victims at a moment’s notice. Nurses meet rigorous legal and medical standards required by statute and ethical code. Their work includes forensic medical collection, medical intervention, health education, follow up referrals and objective legal testimony.
Volunteers carry a cell phone to answer a 24/7 crisis hotline and go to local hospitals to provide compassionate emotional support and advocate for sexual assault survivors.
- Crisis Intervention – immediate 24/7 response through the crisis hotline for children and adult survivors of violence, including stranger and non-stranger sexual assault. Crisis Intervention and Advocacy are available on a walk-in basis during normal business hours (8:30 am-12 pm and 1:00-5:00 pm), Monday-Thursday and Friday (8:30-12 p.m. and 1:00-3:00) at our main location. Call the hotline for more information at 254-752-7233 or toll free at 888-867-7233.
- If this is an EMERGENCY, CALL 911
- Case Management – assessment, referrals, and advocacy for clients with law enforcement, the court system, and other agencies
- Counseling – professional, confidential counseling for victims of all crimes and their families
- Support groups – sexual assault survivor groups for women, men, boys, girls, and teens
- Child Fatality Review Team – tracks trends and risks; educates the community in ways to prevent child deaths
- Community Education – informs children, teachers, clergy and other community members about child abuse issues
- Family enrichment groups – provide non-violent ways to deal with communication and discipline issues.
The Children’s Advocacy Center (CAC) provides a helping hand to hurting children by minimizing their amount of time involved in the investigation and judicial process. The CAC provides the following: forensic interviews, multidisciplinary weekly case tracking, forensic medical examinations, case management and counseling. The Children’s Advocacy Center serves McLennan County.
Our Services Include:
-
A holistic, coordinated response to suspected sexual and physical abuse
-
Videotaped interview – gives the child an opportunity to tell his or her story
-
Medical examination – ensures the physical health of the child
-
Weekly Case Review – partner agencies oversee each case from beginning to end
-
Partner agencies – Law enforcement, Child Protective Services, the District Attorney, the medical community, social workers, and case managers
We believe we all have a role to play in ending sexual violence, and the best way to do that is to stop the violence before it even has a chance to happen. Our Prevention and Education team is doing just that. They are working to change the attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors that lead to the perpetration of sexual violence by offering weekly groups, presentations and engaging our communities in this prevention work. Primarily working with Kindergarten – 12th grade students, they use interactive, research-based programming to challenge harmful beliefs and promote norms of equity, consent, and safety for all.
Topics covered include:
- Respect
- Stereotypes
- Emotions
- Leadership
- Empathy
- Consent
- Media Literacy
- Teen Dating Violence
- Identity
- Healthy Relationships
- Conflict Resolution
- And more!
The Prevention and Education team also works each summer to plan and present conferences for middle and high school youth – the Empowering Girls Conference and the Stand Tall Conference. These half-day conferences seek to give young people the skills and information they need to become leaders by bringing together guest speakers and members of their community to empower and educate.
In addition to our weekly programming and the conferences, you can find us promoting #HealthyRelationshipGoals and bringing you other prevention content in several virtual spaces. Be sure to check out our podcast, Real-ationship Goals, on all major podcasting platforms including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Google Podcasts and follow along with us on our Instagram @ACCVC_Prevention as well as the Advocacy Center’s Facebook and Instagram @Advocacy Waco.
If you’re ready to start the conversation about healthy relationships with the young people in your life, check out our free deck of conversation cards, Table Topics, here. They are available in both English and Spanish.
If you are interested in bringing one of our trained Educators to your school or organization or for resources about how to talk to the young people in your life about these topics please contact our Prevention and Education Director by emailing kwilson@advocacycntr.org or calling (254) 752-9330 x118.