‘It’s about the growth of knowledge.’ What this agency means to Centre County
The Children’s Advocacy Center of Centre County, Mount Nittany Health isn’t looking to grow — at least in the traditional sense.
Before the center began operating in 2014, children in central Pennsylvania were traveling to either Harrisburg or Sunbury to go through a similar process they now go through in Bellefonte.
“The Mount Nittany Health Children’s Advocacy Center was created to advocate for our area children and support an unmet need in our community,” Mount Nittany Health president and CEO Kathleen Rhine said. “Providing this reliable care is an example of Mount Nittany Health’s commitment to our community’s children and families.”
The center initially served a seven-county area, but now serves children from Centre, Clinton, Mifflin and Huntingdon counties.
“When you think about growth, it’s about the growth of knowledge. About what’s going on within our community, too,” CAC Executive Director Kristina Taylor-Porter said. “I think that because we have this here it’s not saying that every child is experiencing some type of abuse. It’s if a child experiences abuse, this resource is available to them.”
More than 1,500 cases have been referred to the center as it approaches its five-year anniversary and each child that comes through the door is met by a specialized child forensic interviewer in a child-friendly space.
The interview can be viewed by members of the multidisciplinary investigative team — law enforcement, the district attorney’s office, medical examiners, mental health professionals, etc. — but it’s a one-on-one conversation between the child and the interviewer.
“It’s fact-finding type of interviewing. It’s not a therapeutic session. It’s really just, what are the details of what’s occurred?” Taylor-Porter said.
After the interview, every child is offered a full-body medical exam — and about 90 percent follow through with the exam — by a Mount Nittany pediatrician. The family will then reconvene to discuss the next steps in the process.
“From a parent’s perspective, if my child was just back here for an hour, I’m gonna wanna know where are we going with this,” Taylor-Porter said. “That’s really just to provide that information, transparency for the family.”
That information and transparency could include charges being filed or an in-home visit from Child and Youth Services.
“They sort of help demystify some of the situations,” Taylor-Porter said. “I think oftentimes we have families that have CSI in their mind and they’re thinking that it’s going to be solved pretty quickly. But unfortunately, the reality is it might be a year to two years out from the time that they might potentially be going to trial.”
But whether charges are filed or a CYS visit is needed, the CAC is there to give children a safe place to tell their story “as part of an investigation that will begin their journey to healing.”
“We’re no longer the new agency within the community. We are a solid agency within the community,” Taylor-Porter said. “We want to be a part of the community for the long haul because as much as I’d like to say child abuse is going away, I can tell you on a daily basis it hasn’t.”