From disclosure to healing: a coordinated response for children will expand safe spot child advocacy centers (CAC) capacity to deliver timely, trauma-informed forensic interviews and comprehensive…

The Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs Victims of Crime awarded Safe Spot Child Advocacy Center of Wilkes $412,509 on October 1, 2025, under the Crime Victim Assistance/Discretionary Grants program (CFDA 16.582) to expand capacity and reduce forensic interview wait times for children who have experienced sexual abuse, severe physical abuse, or witnessed violence in Wilkes County, North Carolina.

The award funds hiring an additional forensic interviewer and strengthening multidisciplinary team collaboration among law enforcement, child protective services, prosecution, and medical and mental health providers. Safe Spot will deliver forensic interviews, advocacy, medical and mental health referrals, caregiver education, court support, and evidence-based prevention and community education programs to children ages zero through seventeen. The organization, a tax-exempt nonprofit based in Wilkesboro, serves a rural Appalachian community with high poverty and limited access to specialized care.

The grant period runs through September 30, 2028, with performance at Wilkesboro, North Carolina. Safe Spot serves approximately one hundred children annually and has trained more than fifteen hundred adults in Stewards of Children, an evidence-informed child sexual abuse prevention curriculum. The organization achieved National Children's Alliance accreditation in June 2021.

From disclosure to healing: a coordinated response for children will expand safe spot child advocacy centers (CAC) capacity to deliver timely, trauma-informed forensic interviews and comprehensive support services for children ages 017 in wilkes county, north carolina, who have experienced sexual abuse, severe physical abuse, or witnessed violence. Located in a rural appalachian community with high poverty, limited access to specialized medical and mental health care, and a sharp increase in abuse referrals, safe spot serves as the hub for coordinated investigation, advocacy, and treatment. The project will hire an additional forensic interviewer to reduce average referral-to-interview wait times and strengthen multidisciplinary team (MDT) collaboration among law enforcement, child protective services, prosecution, and medical and mental health providers. Services will include forensic interviews, advocacy, medical and mental health referrals, caregiver education, court support, and evidence-based prevention and community education programs.