By Sally Ferguson
In a world where silence often shrouds the darkest truths, Child Advocacy Centers (CACs) emerge as a beacon of hope for children in crisis. There are 14 CACs throughout Mississippi that play a crucial role in the response to child abuse.
When police or child protective services begin investigating suspected felony child abuse, they refer cases to a local multidisciplinary team, which consists of law enforcement officers, child protection service agents, medical practitioners, mental health experts, prosecutors, and victim advocates. This referral sets in motion a highly effective and collaborative approach called the Child Advocacy Center / Multidisciplinary Team response to child abuse.
A child advocacy center provides a safe, child-focused environment where an alleged child victim can share his or her experience one time, in one place, with a trained interviewer who asks questions to capture the child’s experience without causing additional trauma. Child advocacy centers and multidisciplinary teams coordinate services like forensic interviews, medical assessments, mental health therapy, courtroom preparation, victim advocacy, and case management, focusing on the child’s emotional health while facilitating a comprehensive response to child abuse incidents.
Children’s Advocacy Centers of Mississippi offers training and technical support for Mississippi’s 14 CACs while promoting best practices. Each child abuse response in the state is organized by county jurisdictions and has developed unique protocols to ensure coordinated efforts. However, these protocols do not entirely align. With 82 counties in Mississippi, there could possibly be 82 different responses to child abuse. The inconsistency in protocols across counties — such as variations in forensic interview techniques and joint investigation coordination — led to unequal support for victims statewide.
Therefore, the Mississippi Statewide Protocol for Child Abuse Response was created by the Children’s Justice Act Task Force – a group of gubernatorially appointed professionals who assess the state’s child abuse response every three years – in partnership with Children’s Advocacy Centers of Mississippi. This protocol, developed over the past four years through collaboration among multidisciplinary team agencies and key stakeholders involved in the state’s child abuse response, has undergone thorough review and refinement before obtaining Children’s Justice Act approval in January 2025. The rollout of the protocol to multidisciplinary teams throughout the state is scheduled for April.
This standardized framework ensures that all multidisciplinary teams across the state follow consistent procedures and best practices, increasing the efficacy of their joint initiatives. It clearly defines roles and responsibilities, outlines the necessary coordination, enhances communication, and fosters collaboration among local, regional, and state agencies involved in addressing child abuse cases. Moreover, it seeks to offer dependable support to children and families in distress while emphasizing child safety and welfare.
Utilizing the Mississippi Statewide Protocol for Child Abuse Response, every child in Mississippi will receive the unwavering, high-quality, trauma-informed care they deserve — because no matter where they are, every child’s healing journey and justice received matters.
This awareness campaign is part of a statewide initiative of Children’s Advocacy Centers of Mississippi to educate communities on this important issue.
Sally Ferguson is chief program officer of Children’s Advocacy Centers of Mississippi.