Junior's House stands up for child abuse victims

He had been beaten to death.

One of the investigators in the case was shaken out of her usual professional detachment by the horror of the scene. Something, she thought, needed to be done.

Thirteen years later, a small group of people are doing something, and they are doing it in Junior's name. Junior's House, a certified Child Advocacy Center, was established to provide services for child abuse victims and their non-offending family members and to provide child abuse awareness and prevention programs.

Junior's House serves the 17th Judicial District, which includes Bedford, Marshall, Lincoln and Moore Counties. Until now, the only office has been in Fayetteville, but director Heather Warden is about to change all that.

Financial boost

"We got a $30,000 grant to expand our services," she said. Of that grant, she said, $10,000 to $12,000 is designated for salary, the same amount for rent or refurbishing costs, and the balance is to be used for equipment.

An additional office in Lewisburg, or between Lewisburg and Shelbyville, is being sought to supplement the work being done in Fayetteville. Unfortunately, she said, the need for child abuse centers is growing.

"Seventeen children in Tennessee died last year because of severe abuse or neglect," said Warden.

Her main goal is to keep the overhead low.

"The less we have to spend on overhead, the more we have to spend on services," she said.

In Fayetteville, the use of the building is donated and grants pay for utilities, she said. Other grants and money from fundraisers help keep the center going. Warden hopes she can get a similar arrangement in Marshall or Bedford counties -- if not both.

"We'd like to have a presence in both counties," she said.

Multiple services

Junior's House plays many roles in the rescue and recovery of abused children. The CAC provides forensic investigators and exams -- trained and certified professionals who can question children in non-threatening ways, encouraging them to tell their stories without using leading questions.

Once the children have been questioned, the workers at Junior's House don't see them again until much later.

"The DA and DCS investigate, and the DCS pulls the child from the home if that's what's needed," said Warden. "Then they come to us."

Junior's House is non-residential, so the children and their non-offending caregivers visit for therapy and counseling. The caregivers also receive therapy and counseling, at the same time but in a separate room.

"It would be ideal if we had an office with four rooms," said Warden. "And a waiting area and reception."

Two of the rooms would need to be side-by-side. They would be then modified with an observation window between them so investigators could watch from one room as the child was questioned in the other.

Some of the services Junior's House offers are free therapy, forensic evaluations, forensic interviews, group counseling for sexual abuse victims, group counseling for the non-offending caregivers of sexual abuse victims, parenting classes, classes for children who have gotten in trouble with the courts with truancy issues, drug and alcohol awareness programs for teenagers, and a drug and alcohol awareness for children in third through sixth grade.

"This is not like DARE," she said of the elementary school program. "It's how to recognize if someone in the home is using drugs or alcohol, if they might be in danger, and who they can tell."

Team effort

Another aspect of Junior's House is that it is a member of a Child Protective Investigative Team (CPIT) that addresses the needs of children. This team includes representatives from the DCS, law enforcement, the DA's office, Junior's House, Youth Services Office, and the medical and mental health profession.

The purpose of the CPIT is to let the agencies share case information with each other, so that, for instance if an incident occurs with one family and the sheriff's office knows about it, DCS will know about it, too. Junior's House coordinates all that information.

"It's an exciting model," she said. "But we're just at the tip of the iceberg.

"Junior slipped through the cracks. That can't happen again."

For more information, contact Warden at (931) 438-3233.

ON THE WEB

www.juniorshousecac.org