We've all read the headlines. Somewhere, another child has been hurt. Families in Cayuga County have unfortunately had their share of tragedies. Stories about child abuse, neglect, maltreatment and sexual abuse affect everyone. These children belong to each and every one of us as we are parents, neighbors, friends, teachers, citizens, professionals in the fields and relatives. And they also belong to the Cayuga County Sexual Abuse Task Force.
The task force or Multi-Disciplinary Team (MDT) has a membership that includes the Auburn police, county sheriff and state police departments, probation, parole, district attorneys and child protective offices, Auburn Memorial Hospital, school district personnel and staff from several community agencies that provide services to children and families.
For more than a decade, the MDT has worked diligently to reduce child interviews that can often be traumatic for children while still getting the information that leads to more arrests, better prosecution and more convictions. The MDT has also knitted together a comprehensive array of services that are available for children and families for as long as needed.
The MDT members work from the time of the initial report through the investigation, prosecution, sentencing and treatment so that children and families can get the justice they deserve and the help and support they need.
In 2006, the MDT helped return the SANE Nurse program in Cayuga County. SANE nurses are specially trained to perform forensic exams for rape and sexual assault victims. They deliver immediate specialized medical care, collect and preserve evidence and testify at hearings and trials. This is an absolutely critical service. The MDT also worked to help secure a NYS Office of Children and Families grant to begin work to develop and open a Child Advocacy Center (CAC) in Cayuga County.
Cayuga County's CACs put the MDT under one roof to coordinate all aspects of child abuse/neglect/maltreatment/sexual assault cases in order to best meet the needs of child victims and their families.
This initiative will further reduce the number of times a child must be interviewed and that significantly reduces further trauma to the child. Case coordination also improves the quality of investigations resulting in more successful prosecutions. And more successful prosecutions results in a safer environment for all our children. The task force has been working towards those goals since its inception and now will have a child-friendly, private and safe place to work with children and families.
There are 16 fully accredited CACs operating in New York State and 10 more are on the way. One of them will open here in Cayuga County. Cayuga Counseling Services, in partnership with the MDT, has identified some potential sites.
Our plan is to co-locate SAVAR, the local rape crisis program, in the CAC along with the MDT as well as other related services and that means that children and families will be able to have all their needs met at one, very safe and private location. Years of careful planning by the MDT guarantees that Cayuga County's CAC will be a model in the state.
Cayuga Counseling Services is set to begin a capital campaign to raise funds to purchase and remodel a suitable property. We will be asking the community for help because these are our kids and this is our community and we will take care of them when they are most vulnerable and in urgent need.
We need help making the CAC a reality. If you would like to help with this project, work on the Capital Fund Campaign or just want to learn more about how a CAC will make a significant impact in our community, please contact Rhonda Zahn, CAC coordinator at 253-9795 or at ccsinc@bci.net.
Ray Bizzari is the executive director of Cayuga Counseling Services. He may be reached at 253-9795.
For more than a decade, the MDT has worked diligently to reduce child interviews that can often be traumatic for children while still getting the information that leads to more arrests, better prosecution and more convictions. The MDT has also knitted together a comprehensive array of services that are available for children and families for as long as needed.
The MDT members work from the time of the initial report through the investigation, prosecution, sentencing and treatment so that children and families can get the justice they deserve and the help and support they need.
In 2006, the MDT helped return the SANE Nurse program in Cayuga County. SANE nurses are specially trained to perform forensic exams for rape and sexual assault victims. They deliver immediate specialized medical care, collect and preserve evidence and testify at hearings and trials. This is an absolutely critical service. The MDT also worked to help secure a NYS Office of Children and Families grant to begin work to develop and open a Child Advocacy Center (CAC) in Cayuga County.
Cayuga County's CACs put the MDT under one roof to coordinate all aspects of child abuse/neglect/maltreatment/sexual assault cases in order to best meet the needs of child victims and their families.
This initiative will further reduce the number of times a child must be interviewed and that significantly reduces further trauma to the child. Case coordination also improves the quality of investigations resulting in more successful prosecutions. And more successful prosecutions results in a safer environment for all our children. The task force has been working towards those goals since its inception and now will have a child-friendly, private and safe place to work with children and families.
There are 16 fully accredited CACs operating in New York State and 10 more are on the way. One of them will open here in Cayuga County. Cayuga Counseling Services, in partnership with the MDT, has identified some potential sites.
Our plan is to co-locate SAVAR, the local rape crisis program, in the CAC along with the MDT as well as other related services and that means that children and families will be able to have all their needs met at one, very safe and private location. Years of careful planning by the MDT guarantees that Cayuga County's CAC will be a model in the state.
Cayuga Counseling Services is set to begin a capital campaign to raise funds to purchase and remodel a suitable property. We will be asking the community for help because these are our kids and this is our community and we will take care of them when they are most vulnerable and in urgent need.
We need help making the CAC a reality. If you would like to help with this project, work on the Capital Fund Campaign or just want to learn more about how a CAC will make a significant impact in our community, please contact Rhonda Zahn, CAC coordinator at 253-9795 or at ccsinc@bci.net.
Ray Bizzari is the executive director of Cayuga Counseling Services. He may be reached at 253-9795.
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