Children Advocacy Centers (CACs) are the fastest growing community-based model for coordinating multidisciplinary investigations and modernizing and facilitating services for child abuse victims.
One of the most innovative approaches to investigations of child victimization is the multi-disciplinary team (MDT) approach. The MDT approach was formalized by Children’s Advocacy Centers (CACs) in the 1980s to minimize the negative impacts of the criminal justice process on child victims, improve criminal justice outcomes, and increase the delivery of support services to victims and their families. There are currently over 950 accredited CACs in all 50 states assisted by CAC State Chapters and by Regional CAC Networks. A coverage map developed and maintained by the NCA (https://www.nationalchildrensalliance.org/cac-coverage-maps/) identifies that CACs currently serve 2,253 counties (72% of counties in the U.S.).
In 2005, researchers at the Crimes Against Children Research Center conducted ground-breaking evaluation research to study the impact of the CAC model on investigations of child sexual abuse. The Multi-Site Evaluation of Children’s Advocacy Centers project found a number of successes for CACs:
- Greater access of victims to medical exams,
- More involvement by law enforcement in sexual abuse investigations, and
- Greater satisfaction by the non-offending caregiver with the investigation process.
However, the results also highlight areas in need of more attention by CACs:
- Successful multidisciplinary team coordination varied widely across sites and
- There were no differences favoring CACs versus comparison sites on mental health service access for victims, satisfaction with the investigation for children, or criminal justice outcomes.
Since 2005, CCRC researchers have continued to work closely CAC partners and the NCA to understand the impact of the MDT approach and research ways to build on this work. Please see related projects and papers for more information.
