Williamson County Children’s Advocacy Center aims to help clients navigate abuse

The center interviewed 638 children in Williamson County in 2016, according to data collected by WCCAC.

Children can also receive Sexual Assault Nurse Examinations conducted by trained professionals—but currently only 96 hours or more after the abuse, Benoit-Beatty said.

Exams given before the 96-hour period are more likely to reveal bodily evidence and are more time consuming.

Benoit-Beatty said there are currently no registered pediatric SANE nurses in Williamson County and that the organization is in the process of applying for grant funding that would allow WCCAC to provide the exams before the 96-hour period. 

[caption id="attachment_236500" align="alignleft" width="460"] Benoit-Beatty (right) serves as WCCAC’s executive director and
McMichael on the board of directors.[/caption]

Counselors at WCCAC provide trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy for children ages 2-17 years, Benoit-Beatty said. The center logged more than 3,797 counseling sessions in 2016.

WCCAC also commits to educating the public on detecting signs of child abuse.

“What we do here is not only amazing, but it is fundamental and basic to who we are as humans and what we need to do as humans,” McMichael said.

The center trained 3,935 teaching and child care professionals and youth advocates on how to recognize signs and symptoms of child abuse and how to respond in 119 sessions held last year, according to WCCAC data.

In 2015, about 90 percent of alleged abusers were in some way related to the victim, according to the National Children’s Alliance, which works to empower communities to serve child abuse victims.

“That’s a lot of children, and that’s the ones we know about,” McMichael said.

Benoit-Beatty said the goal is to intervene, nurture and rehabilitate children who come to WCCAC.

“We know when a child has come through the doors, the worst has happened to them,” Benoit-Beatty said. “We help them heal so they can grow up to be a happy, healthy, whole adult.”

The organization, which is recognizing National Child Abuse Prevention Month in April, has a motto of “We can’t change what happened to them previously, but we can affect their future.”