Children’s Advocacy Center Opens in Summerville

The Children’s Advocacy Center for the Lookout Mountain Judicial Circuit held a grand opening celebration on Monday March 12 for the Summerville office located at 26 West Washington Street.

The CAC-LMJC provides services for child abuse victims and their families in a child-friendly environment. The office will serve as a centralized location for interviewing and examining children who are victims of abuse. All services are provided upon referral from law enforcement, Department of Family and Children’s Services, and the District Attorney’s Office.

“We currently use our judicial circuits Children’s Advocacy Center on a regular basis. One of the main missions of the center is to provide assistance to children who are victims of crime as well as to their families. In the past we, and families who are dealing with certain situations, have had to travel to Fort Oglethorpe for the child to receive services. Now, the Chattooga Office will be able to meet the needs of our residents as far a therapy and other needs. We hope that soon we will be able to offer forensic interviewing locally which will be very beneficial to families here. I am very excited about having a center in our county and look forward to our future endeavors of helping with mental health issues concerning our children,” Chattooga County Sheriff Mark Schrader said.

The Children’s Advocacy Center in Summerville offers a child friendly environment. The organization assists in the centralized activities of all agencies involved in the intervention and prevention of child abuse. They offer support for physical and emotional safety of children and their non-offending caregivers, while facilitating joint investigations conducted by specially trained professionals.