February 18, 2016
This February, as the new Bronx Child Advocacy Center (CAC) opens, we celebrate the culmination of more than 20 years of tenacious efforts by Safe Horizon and our partners to bring hope, justice and healing to abused children in all five boroughs of New York City.
Safe Horizon’s Child Advocacy Centers are child-friendly facilities where a team of experts sit side-by-side to provide a comprehensive, coordinated and expert investigation and response to the most serious cases of child abuse. For a child like Angelica, nothing is more important than a swift response that keeps her safe, addresses her physical injuries and emotional harm, and brings her abuser to justice.
Angelica’s Story
After her mother died when she was only nine, Angelica’s father entrusted his friend with her childcare. Tragically, this friend sexually assaulted Angelica repeatedly over the course of months and threatened her not to tell anyone. Summoning all of her courage, she confided in her teacher, who then told her father. After reporting it to the police, a detective brought her to a CAC where Angelica could tell her story to a specially-trained forensic interviewer. The swift investigation, response and treatment that Angelica received allowed her and her father to move forward with the healing they deserved.
Making History
Safe Horizon’s journey to provide a comprehensive response to child abuse victims began in 1991 with the pioneering work of Jane Barker. Through her collaborative work with partner agencies, the Jane Barker Brooklyn Child Advocacy Center opened its doors in 1996.
For the first time anywhere in the country, a team of professionals representing law enforcement, child protection, prosecution, medical and mental health care, and victim advocacy sat side by side to coordinate the investigation.
No longer did child victims have to relive their abuse by retelling their stories multiple times, in intimidating places such as police precincts or overcrowded hospital emergency rooms. The CAC soon became a national model, setting a new standard for care of abused children.
Building on this success in Brooklyn, Safe Horizon established CACs in Staten Island in 1998 and Queens in 2003.
In 2006, the case of Nixmary Brown created urgency around this invaluable resource. The tragic murder of this seven-year-old girl by her stepfather prompted the New York City Mayor’s Office to become a staunch advocate of the fully co-located CAC model, and was a catalyst for the opening of both the Manhattan in 2009 and Bronx CACs this year.
Today, Safe Horizon is the only organization in the country to operate five fully co-located CACs in an urban setting.
Ms. Barker’s torch is carried today by Nancy Arnow, our vice president of Child Advocacy and Mental Health Treatment Services. Mrs. Arnow has dedicated her 27-year career at Safe Horizon to ensuring that we provide the most effective services to every victim and their impacted family members. As she says, “I am enormously hopeful as to how much can be accomplished when we work together towards a shared vision.“