Charlotte Mecklenburg Prioritizing Children

Since the mid 1980“s, professionals have recognized that in order to intervene successfully in child abuse, a variety of expertise and professional disciplines are required. Bud Cramer, former District Attorney and now United States Congressman from Huntsville, Alabama founded the first Center in May, 1985.

Today, Child Advocacy Centers are widely recognized as the standard for investigating and treating childhood sexual abuse. Now there are nearly 500 Centers serving children nationwide, 29 of which serve children throughout North Carolina counties. Without a Child Advocacy Center, children are subjected to multiple interviews, families are left to navigate a confusing, fragmented child protection system, and child abuse professionals lack the coordinated system critical to ensure children receive the intervention and care tailored to each child“s unique circumstances.

Pat’s Place began in 2000 as a special project of the Council for Children, Inc. In August 2004 Pat’s Place became its own private non-profit agency, and officially opened its doors in August 2005.

Pat’s Place multidisciplinary team was formed in 2001 in order to coordinate child protective service and law enforcement information, medical and mental health services, and criminal outcomes involving the alleged perpetrators. This team is and will remain the core of Pat’s Place Child Advocacy Center, providing all child abuse professionals with the forum for case planning, information sharing, and identifying and accessing specialized treatment needs.

Since that time, over 400 children have received multidisciplinary coordination and case management services locally. But that is not enough. It is critical that our children have a specialized facility to tell their stories, a place where the child abuse response system is transformed, and professionals continually work together to prevent and heal the pain of child abuse.

Pat’s Place Child Advocacy Center  ◊  1819 East Boulevard  ◊  Charlotte, NC 28203  ◊  704-335-2760  ◊  704-335-2768 fax