Community Budget Issue Requests - Tracking Id #155 Children's Advocacy Center
Requester:	Lisa Early		Organization:		Children's Advocacy Center
Project Title:	Children's Advocacy Center		Date Submitted:		01/13/2000 5:24:13 PM
District Member:	Buddy Dyer		Service Area:		County
Counties Affected:	Orange
Recipient:	Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children and Women		Contact:		Lisa Early
	92 W. Miller Street		Contact Phone:		(407) 317-7430
	Orlando 32806
Project Description:
The Children's Advocacy center is a multi-disciplinary approach to child abuse investigation. This approach, based on a national model, promotes a multi-agency coordinated response to child abuse investigation. The Children's Advocacy Center brings together detectives, social workers, medical personnel, mental health providers, school district staff and the prosecution team to conduct investigations, review cases and recommend services and treatment. The Children's Advocacy Center in Orange County consists of representatives from; Department of Children & Families, the Sheriff's Office, Orlando Police Department, Public School District, the State Attorney's Office, Ninth Judicial Circuit, the Child Protection Team and local mental health providers.
Services Provided/Benefit to State:
In Central Florida, child abuse victims and their families are bounced from one agency to another. Children often "slip through the cracks" of this fragmented system. A Children's Advocacy Center(CAC)is a national model with 150 such centers around the nation for addressing these problems. The benefits include; 1)agencies work together under a single, joint protocol to enhance the system's ability to effectively respond to child maltreatment, 2)children experience less "bounce" from agency to agency, reducing "system imposed trauma", 3)unified, comprehensive database which enables comprehensive, cross-agency case tracking from the initial report through prosecution and treatment, 4)professionals from different agencies better understand and respect each other's roles and expertise, creating more effective teamwork, 5)professionals receive comprehensive, on-going training, 6)investigation of abuse allegations is more effective, 7)duplication of services is eliminated, and 8)immediate and continuous mental health services are ensured.
Measurable Outcome Anticipated:
One of the manifold benefits of this Center is the joint response that will increase the safety of children and improve the quality of cases for prosecution.
Amount requested from the State for this project this year:				$500,000
Total cost of the project:		$750,000

Request has been made to fund:			Operations
Is there Local Government or Private match for this request?						Yes
	Cash Amount:	$250,000
Was this project previously funded by the State?						Yes
	Fiscal Year:	1999-2000		Amount:		$300,000
Is future-year funding likely to be requested?						Yes
	Amount:	$500,000
	Purpose for future year funding:				Recurring Operations
	Will this be an annual request?					Yes
Was this project included in an Agency's Budget Request?						Yes
	Agency:	Children And Families, Department Of
Was this project included in the Governor's Recommended Budget?						Yes
Is there a documented need for this project?						Yes
	Documentation:	Child Abuse Hotline & Comprehensive Plan
Was this project request heard before a publicly noticed meeting of a body of elected officials (municipal, county, or state)?						No