Child Abuse & Neglect Services
Children Need Help Designed for Them
Child abuse and neglect services help children and non-offending caregivers navigate concerns about abuse in ways that reduce trauma, improve coordination, and connect families to the support they need.
In Washington, Children’s Advocacy Centers bring together trained professionals in a child-focused setting so children can tell their story in a safer, more coordinated process and families can access advocacy, medical, mental health, and related services.
What are child abuse and neglect?
Child abuse and neglect includes all types of abuse and neglect of a child under the age of 18 by a parent, caregiver, or another person in a custodial role (such as a religious leader, a coach, or a teacher) that results in harm, the potential for harm, or the threat of harm to a child.
— Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
Child abuse & neglect services are specialized supports that help children and families respond to abuse concerns with greater safety, clarity, and coordination.
Depending on the community and the situation, that can include victim advocacy, forensic interviews, case coordination, referrals for medical care, referrals for trauma-focused mental health support, and collaboration across the multidisciplinary team responding to the child’s needs.
Children’s Advocacy Centers or CACs are child-focused, facility-based programs where professionals from multiple disciplines come together to ensure a coordinated and comprehensive response to child abuse that promotes safety, supports healing, and improves outcomes for children and families.
Without this kind of coordinated response, children may have to repeat painful information to multiple systems. At a CAC, the goal is to reduce that burden and improve access to healing-centered support, accountability processes, and follow-up care.
What are Children's Advocacy Centers?
How CACs help children and families
Coordinating the System & Helping Families and Children Directly
A CAC’s mission is to promote and foster safety, healing, and justice for children and families. The common focus of the CAC is to foster healing and avoid potential retraumatization of children and families by the systems designed to respond to their needs.
When police or child protective services believe a child is being abused, the child is brought to the CAC—a safe, child-focused environment—by a caregiver or other “safe” adult. At the CAC, the child talks about their experience with a trained interviewer who knows the right questions to ask in a way that does not retraumatize the child. Then, a team that includes medical professionals, law enforcement, prosecuting attorneys, mental health, child protective services, victim advocacy, and other professionals make decisions together about how to help the child based on the interview. CACs provide access to therapy and specialized medical exams, plus victim advocacy, case management, and other services. This is called the multidisciplinary team (MDT) response and is a core part of the work that CACs do.
System Coordination
CACs help by bringing key partners together, often including law enforcement, child protective services, medical providers, mental health professionals, prosecutors, and victim advocates. This multidisciplinary team (MDT) approach helps children and non-offending caregivers receive coordinated support rather than navigating each part of the system alone.
Children & Family Support
CACs may help families access forensic interviews, specialized medical evaluations, victim advocacy, case management, and evidence-supported mental health services. CACWA also emphasizes the importance of trauma-focused support for children and non-offending caregivers as part of healing and recovery.
Who is Children's Advocacy Centers of Washington?
Children’s Advocacy Centers of Washington (CACWA) is an accredited State Chapter of the National Children’s Alliance with primary responsibility for supporting Child Advocacy Centers (CACs) and their multidisciplinary team (MDT) partners statewide. As a membership organization, CACWA supports local CAC and MDT professionals through the provision of training, technical assistance, research, funding, and advocacy to ensure a coordinated response to allegations of child abuse that protects children, reduces trauma, and promotes healing.
CACWA is a valued Contributor to WA-SAST and we appreciate the opportunity to share their work with the entire state here.
Looking for resources and training for child abuse professionals?
WA-SAST can help users find organizations, trainings, resources, and related content across the broader victim services field. For resources that are specific to CACs and the multidisciplinary child abuse response, CACWA is an important companion resource for training, research, and resources on a wide variety of topics for child abuse professionals.
In Washington State, certain professionals are designated by law as mandatory reporters. These individuals have a strict legal obligation to report any suspected cases of child abuse or neglect. Mandatory reporters include healthcare providers, school personnel (such as teachers, counselors, and coaches), social service agency staff, law enforcement officers, and religious leaders who suspect maltreatment in their custodial or professional roles.
Under Washington State law (RCW 26.44.030), mandatory reporters must make an official report at the first opportunity, and no later than 48 hours after receiving the information.
Mandatory Reporting
Looking for your local Child Advocacy Center or other resources?
Use the WA-SAST directory to explore organizations and support options across Washington.
If you are specifically looking for a CAC or training opportunities for professionals working with CACs, visit CACWA.
