Red Deer, Alberta, June 15, 2018: The Central Alberta Child Advocacy Centre is thrilled to announce that the next phase in planning for its new Centre of Excellence on Red Deer College’s main campus is now underway.

On Thursday, June 14, RDC’s Board of Governors approved a resolution to move forward to request Government of Alberta approval through an Order in Council to lease a portion of land on the RDC campus to the Central Alberta Child Advocacy Centre. This request builds on the memorandum of understanding that CACAC and RDC entered into earlier this year, and it represents the partners’ commitment to work together to explore options that will meet the needs of Central Albertans.

Mark Jones, Chief Executive Officer of the CACAC, together with the centre’s staff and service partners, couldn’t be more pleased with this announcement. “Supporters of the centre have worked tirelessly since the formation of the coalition group who were determined to help with the desperate need for child advocacy in Central Alberta. We are collectively changing the way Central Alberta responds to child abuse. We opened in our temporary facility November 2017, and the statistics have been staggering of how many cases have been processed. The need for our planned Centre of Excellence is proven, and we are going to be working hard to raise the funds to bring it to fruition. These children need us, the community needs us, and the future of our society depends on it.”

The Central Alberta Child Advocacy Centre is a not for profit organization, governed by a board of directors that works in an integrative partnership with the Central Region Child and Family Services, Alberta Health Services, Alberta Justice, Alberta Education, the Central Alberta Sexual Assault Support Centre, and the RCMP to better service children, youth and families impacted by sexual abuse and the most serious/complex cases of physical abuse and neglect.

The centre has professionals onsite dealing with the criminal, child protection, medical and psychological needs of child victims and their families. Onsite professionals include police officers, physicians, nurses, social workers, psychologists, and crown prosecutors with the common goals of: improved timeliness in the coordinated assessment and investigation of child abuse cases; increased access to support and therapeutic resources for the child and their family; enhanced collaboration among partners; more efficient and effective use of resources; increased knowledge and awareness of child abuse in the community.

Working collaboratively, we achieve greater results than any partner could on their own. It blends investigation, treatment, prevention, education and research with expertise to provide an integrated practice approach: wrapping around children and always “working in the best interests of the child”.

Learn more about the Central Alberta Child Advocacy Centre by clicking this link.