By Deborah Jeanne Sergeant
The trauma caused by child abuse and neglect doesn’t end with the incident.
These crimes also inflict harm as children must recount what happened again and again. This is one reason that the Child Advocacy Centers in Onondaga and Oswego counties provides wraparound, comprehensive care. The CACs are based on a national model.
Carol Gazitano, licensed marriage and family therapist and deputy director of Child Advocacy Center of Oswego County in Fulton, explained that creating an organization that offers a complete array of services under one roof prevents children and their families from “being shuffled around and retelling the story to several people,” she said. “We try to reduce the traumatizing of retelling.”
CAC of Oswego County offers a forensic interview, medical exam, acute mental health counseling, referrals for needs such as food, housing and safety, and continued support throughout the immediate recovery and legal and court process.
The mental health services include helping children learn skills that can help them through times when triggers rise up.
“They can use these in real time,” Gazitano said. “If they’re at school, they could use a breathing exercise or progressive muscle relaxation. It helps them process their trauma and achieve their goals. It has an 80% success rate for lowering symptoms of PTSD in children.”
CAC of Oswego County also provides help for the rest of the family, including mental health, financial and housing needs and more.
The organization employs 16 full-time.
Gazitano said that several new programs are slated to start in 2023 and CAC of Oswego County plans to hire more therapists to expand mental health programs. Much of this involves satisfying schools’ safety education requirements because of Erin’s Law, which involves a minimum of four lessons a year about child sexual abuse prevention instruction.
“We have evidence-based training and curriculum and it’s free for schools,” Gazitano said.
The CAC of Oswego County also provides instruction at other venues. Its non educational services include a community response team for sex trafficking and a child fatality review team.
In 2021, The CAC of Oswego County served 471 children and provided 7,732 unique services including, but not limited to, forensic interviews, advocacy, mental health and case management.
McMahon Ryan Child Advocacy Center in Syracuse represents an Onondaga County-based CAC.
The onsite resources include law enforcement, the district attorney’s office, special victim’s bureau, therapy, advocacy and outreach.
In addition to reducing trauma, holding one interview about the child’s experience helps children succinctly and more accurately relate what happened soon after the crime occurred.
“When children are interviewed my multiple people, they may feel more comfortable exposing different information to different people and defense attorneys may use that in court,” said Colleen Merced, executive director of McMahon Ryan CAC.
McMahon Ryan CAC assigns an advocate to manage each case that follows the family throughout the entire process and until they no longer need services. This lasts between two months and two years and can include finding resources like housing, working through the criminal justice system, and finding appropriate therapy.
“It builds relationships and connections with team members,” said Merced. “And all you have to do is walk to another floor to get additional information.”
Caseworkers and people providing other resources can more quickly meet families’ needs instead of constantly waiting for someone to call back.
McMahon Ryan CAC serves about 1,500 children annually and about 3,500 individuals including parents and non-offending caregivers. The center employs 30.
The center’s 2023 goal is to expand its therapy and outreach services.
“Currently, we have a small outreach team that sees 20,000-22,000 students a year with prevention education and outreach,” Merced said.