Southern Arizona Children's Advocacy Center

The mission of the Southern Arizona Children's Advocacy Center is to provide a safe, compassionate, healing environment for children who have been a victim or witnessed a crime.

The Southern Arizona Children's Advocacy Center serves over 1,400 children of Southern Arizona a year who have suffered sexual molestation, physical assault, or extreme neglect. SACAC provides a safe child-sensitive place where child victims of abuse undergo the initial steps of an investigation. Upon referrals from law enforcement, the Department of Child Safety, or self-reports of abuse, children are interviewed by specially trained Forensic Interviewers. While the child is being interviewed by a forensic interviewer trained to conduct non-suggestive, neutral interviews that will be court admissible, officials watch the interview from a monitor in a separate room and can discretely direct the interviewer to ask additional questions, seek clarification, or obtain additional information. This eliminates the need for additional interviews that adds to the child's trauma. The non-offending family members are assigned a family advocate who assists the family with follow up community mental health referrals, informs them of their victim rights, and serves as a bridge between the family and law enforcement. The heart of the Southern Arizona Children's Advocacy Center is its multidisciplinary team of professionals. This includes representations from law enforcement agencies, child protective services, prosecuting attorneys, medical and mental health agencies, and education. In this coordinated effort, the Center can help find justice for these children and the process of healing can begin.

SACAC's community outreach program, Keeping Kids Safe: Prevention and Education Outreach, partners with the Tucson Police Department and Pima County Sheriff's Department to provide programs for children through school and community presentations. The objective of these programs is to help promote safety to children and training to professionals to help identify and report abuse. Prevention programs are age and grade specific and attendees are taught realistic, simple tools and skills to identify signs of abuse and neglect, either in themselves or someone they know. Our Outreach program also includes mandatory reporting law training to professionals responsible for minor children. These programs help promote safety to children through education, empowerment, and support.