Two years of work with abused children in an 11-county area most likely could be lost if funding cuts proposed by Gov. Matt Blunt become a reality.
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Two years of work with abused children in an 11-county area most likely could be lost if funding cuts proposed by Gov. Matt Blunt become a reality.
The North Central Missouri Advocacy Center, which serves Grundy County, along with 10 other counties in the area, would most likely have to close its doors if the $1.9 million state money is taken from the proposed budget for next year.
“The state provided 65 percent of our funding last year and cutting that money would basically put us out of business,” Center Director Cathie Smith said.
The Trenton facility is one of 15 sites in the state that serves child abuse victims, doing interviews that assist law enforcement officials in their investigations and prosecution of the abusers. In 2004, the local center worked with 105 children, including 100 who underwent video interviews as part of the prosecution process. There were also 11 children who were able to receive “safe exams” through the center, rather than having to go to a facility several miles away to be checked by a physician for signs of sexual abuse.
“Without the funding, we would be one of seven centers in the state who would have to close its doors,” Mrs. Smith said. “That means we would be right back where we were before (the center opened), sending these kids several hundreds of miles away for services we are now providing locally.”
Mrs. Smith noted the children served by the center are already in a fragile state and the importance of the services being available locally cannot be emphasized enough.
“These kids already have enough on their mind in dealing with what has happened to them,” Mrs. Smith said. “Having to go elsewhere for help can provide a strain on the child and in a lot of cases, the child and/or the family won’t go for the help they need.”
And closing the center won’t reduce the number of children needing the services, however, Mrs. Smith said the numbers who actually receive them would decline.
“When you’re talking about having to go two, three, four hours to get these services, it’s more unlikely the child won’t get the help,” she said. “With the price of gasoline the way it is, a lot of families just can’t afford to go.”
Mrs. Smith said that while law enforcement agencies can continue to do some of the interview work being done at the center, time and training will prevent many from taking on that role.
“It takes someone who is specially trained to make sure the child is comfortable and who asks the right questions,” she said. “We’ve been fortunate in our case that we formed an inter-agency group that is committed to working together to make sure that our work is done right. We’ve been committed to a team approach from the beginning and that has resulted in great cooperation among the agencies and better investigations being done. We could lose that if the center is gone.”
The center currently has two full-time and three part-time employees, including two individuals who are trained to do the interviews. A victim advocate is also employed by the center and Mrs. Smith said she has recently applied for a grant to help fund that position.
“We try to write grants whenever we can find them,” she said. “They’ve been helpful, but they can’t carry the whole load.”
Mrs. Smith said the community has been very helpful in supporting the center, providing some funding to help with general operations.
“But it’s going to take more,” she said.
Mrs. Smith encourages residents who have an interest to contact their legislators and let them know how they feel.
“The center serves a very worthy purpose in this area and it’s important to let our legislators know its impact,” she said, adding that organizations such as the Missouri Association of Prosecuting Attorneys have made their feelings known for keeping the centers funded. “The prosecutors know as well as anyone how important the work we do here is in prosecuting pedofiles and child abusers.”