Children's Advocacy Center

Texas is home to 71 Children’s Advocacy Centers – as unique as the communities they serve.

Child Abuse in Texas

Today, 175 Texas children will be victims of abuse.
In 2018, 58,432 children received services from one of the children's advocacy centers across the state of Texas.
1 in 10 children will be sexually abused before their 18th birthday. This would equal 740,000 children in Texas.

Our Impact

A children’s advocacy center is the ONE non-profit to serve as the first stop for children entering the justice system because of suspected sexual abuse, severe physical abuse, and those who have witnessed a violent crime. In FY18, 58,432 children received critical services at a Texas children’s advocacy center. The network of 71 Texas CACs now officially serves 201 counties where 98% of the Texas population resides.

67% of children seen by CACs were involved in sexual abuse cases
98% of child victims knew their alleged perpetrator
21% were not old enough to attend kindergarten
327 children were involved in sex trafficking

Each of us has one thing in common. Each has a table that functions as a regular meeting place for people who care. These tables welcome law enforcement officers, Child Protective Services (CPS) investigators, prosecutors, forensic interviewers, medical experts, and therapists. All of these individuals are united in one guiding goal – to win justice for the victims of child abuse and place them on a path toward healing.

These round table discussions are at the heart of the Children’s Advocacy Center of Van Zandt County (CACVZC), and the results are truly life changing. It is the mission of the Children's Advocacy Center of Van Zandt County, Inc. to reduce trauma to child victims of physical and sexual abuse through a unified effort that facilitates thorough investigations, effective prosecution, and the healing of children and their families.

Van Zandt County is home to 54,355 individuals (July 2016 Census). There are 3,098 children under the age of 5 and 12,610 under the age of 18. Without your support, we could not provide services for child victims of sexual and physical abuse and neglect in our communities. Please consider taking your seat at the CACVZC table and providing support to child victims of abuse and neglect in Van Zandt County.

Pinwheels Make a Difference

Pinwheels are the national symbol for child abuse prevention and the Planting Pinwheels in Van Zandt County campaign focuses on positive efforts to ensure that all children have the safe, stable, nurturing families they deserve

About the Children's Advocacy Center of Van Zandt County

Purpose

CACVZC provides a variety of services that not only assist law enforcement and DFPS/CPS investigators gather evidence through forensic interviews, but also provides any child victim of abuse or neglect and their non-offending family members with resources for therapeutic healing.

Our Services

Since opening our doors in 2006, we have

Conducted over 1200 Forensic Interviews for law enforcement and Department of Family and Protective Services
Offered individual therapy services to over 500 child victims and their non-offending family members
Conducted over 3000 hours of Trauma Focused-CBT therapy

Community Services

In the last two years,

We have provided community education through church groups, at community gatherings, for schools, for educator, student, and parent groups, as well as for law enforcement groups
We have had very successful turnout of law enforcement agency personnel for Child Abuse Investigation trainings
Our volunteers have given over 150 hours of their time to assist the staff with all of our events

FY17 Information

In FY17, CACVZC

Served 213 new child victims of abuse and neglect.
Provided 15 training and awareness events for 40 law enforcement personnel, 3 members of the judiciary, 26 volunteers, and 23 other individuals from educational and faith-based organizations
Provided 18 community outreach activities that reached 565 participants, and 4 structured educational programs that served 65 participants
Participated in 8 informational fairs that were able to reach 595 community members

Volunteer Program

In FY17, CACVZC Our volunteer program was able to serve 73 child victims of child abuse and neglect, with 33 volunteers providing direct services, and 56 volunteers providing other services

Report Abuse

Call 911 or your local law enforcement agency if you have an emergency or life-threatening situation that must be dealt with immediately.

By Phone: 1-800-252-5400 if your situation is urgent and needs to be investigated within 24 yours.
Online: Texas Abuse Hotline

Call our Abuse Hotline toll-free 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, nationwide, or report with our secure website and get a response within 24 hours.

Donate to CAC Van Zandt County - CAC Van Zandt County is a 501(c)(3) corporation. We depend on the generosity of our community to carry out our mission of helping Van Zandt County children.