Currently the Council for Children is focusing its Class Advocacy efforts in two areas:

Pat's Place: Mecklenburg Child Advocacy Center
Pat's Place was named in honor and memory of the late Pat Wolfe. Pat was a highly regarded child advocate who worked tirelessly in our community, and passed away in May of 2000.

It is projected that a fully operational child friendly facility will serve our community by late 2004.

The mission of the Children’s Advocacy Center is to minimize the trauma experienced by child sexual abuse victims by improving access to help and treatment. The CAC will coordinate the efforts of law enforcement, medical, social services, victim assistance, the District Attorney’s office and other involved authorities to take a team approach in treating cases of child sexual abuse.

What is Pat's Place Child Advocacy Center?

A Child Advocacy Center (CAC) is a collaborative community approach responding to child sexual abuse victims and their families. It builds upon the multidisciplinary team approach by providing a non-threatening, child-focused environment where investigations and treatment of child sexual abuse cases can be conducted. In addition, appropriate referrals for supportive services to victims and their families can be provided.

The multidisciplinary team approach brings together all the professionals and agencies involved in the intervention of child sexual abuse cases. The core team agencies include: Mecklenburg County Department of Social Services/Youth and Family Services, Pediatric Resource Center, Behavioral Health, Family Center, United Family Services Victim Assistance, Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department and the District Attorney's office.

What are the goals of the multidisciplinary team?

To share information effectively and timely regarding the investigation, treatment, and prosecution of child sexual abuse cases.

To effectively promote joint interviews of child and family.

To work together to prevent further victimization of children.

To ultimately have a place where the child victim and family remain in one safe, secure, and friendly location to be interviewed and begin receiving support services if necessary.

To identify gaps in the system and work towards eliminating those gaps.

Benefits of the Child Advocacy Center:

The number of child victim interviews are reduced, reducing the trauma on the child.

Children receive prompt, ongoing services that are tailored to their specific needs and family situations, and ensures protection.

Efficient medical and mental health services or referrals will be provided.

Enhanced communication with team members and agencies enables each discipline to make better informed decisions and minimizing the possibility of a child "falling between the cracks".

Coordinated investigations lead to more efficient use of each agency's resources and staff time.
The community is better educated about the problem of child abuse and the needs of abused children and their families.

Our community is better able to identify gaps in the system and challenged to develop more resources or work toward eliminating the gap.

An exciting way to take part in developing Pat's Place Child Advocacy Center is to make a donation through the Foundation for the Carolinas Philanthropy Marketplace. For more information, visit www.fftc.org

For more information about Pat's Place, call Anne Pfeiffer at 704-373-9226.

Core Values

Charlotte-Mecklenburg has made a commitment to its children. Through a two-year process of research, focus groups and household surveys, the community has developed a set of 8 Core Values for the children of Mecklenburg County. These values or minimum standards are the line in the sand in which the community will not tolerate any child living below.

These common values assure that all children will be healthy, safe, nurtured and educated. The Core Values and Standards for Children and Families in Charlotte-Mecklenburg study is the road map by which this community can begin to hold itself accountable for assuring that the basics exist for all children in Charlotte-Mecklenburg.

Since 1998, this collaborative effort has been spearheaded by The Council for Children, Inc., with support and assistance of The Relatives, Inc., Youth Homes, Inc., Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, United Way of Central Carolinas, Inc., The Family Center, Mecklenburg County Department of Social Services, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department, Mecklenburg County Area Mental Health-Child & Adolescent Services as well as other concerned citizens of our county.

It is up to us as a community to make sure that all of our children have the same opportunities in order to reach their full potential as responsible self-sufficient adults.

The principal components of the Core Values and Minimum Standards for Children and Families of Charlotte-Mecklenburg study include family support, health care, education, emotional well-being, safety, community support, economic security and community activities.

These standards show that children are a priority in Charlotte-Mecklenburg. To ensure success and compliance, both private and public policy and budgetary decisions affecting children and families’ welfare will be measured against these Core Values.