Child Advocacy Center

The One Place Child Advocacy Center (CAC) is a child-focused facility providing hope and healing to children from birth to age 17 who have experienced physical abuse, sexual abuse, serious neglect, and/or violence. 

Our Approach 

The Child Advocacy Center model provides a powerful child-focused environment where law enforcement, child protective services, prosecution, and medical and mental health professionals can work together and develop a coordinated strategy to support a child in need. Our approach is based on a nationwide model of child advocacy centers and we are accredited by the National Children’s Alliance. 

How We Help

Our multidisciplinary team of professionals responds to and investigates reports of physical abuse, sexual abuse, serious neglect, or violence. We conduct forensic interviews, provide sensitive medical exams, offer family advocacy, and identify vital resources so children and families can begin to heal and build resilience.  

At a Child Advocacy Center, a child tells their story to a trained interviewer, preventing any re-traumatization from occurring, and providing them with a safe place to heal. Comprehensive medical exams are completed by medical providers rostered as trained child abuse experts through the Child Medical Evaluation Program at UNC-Chapel Hill Department of Pediatrics. Our Child Advocacy Center employs the only two rostered providers in Onslow County.  All of our services are offered in a safe, sensitive, and child-centered environment. 

We also offer resources and referrals to community services to help reduce trauma and improve the lives of children and their families in Onslow County. 

Mental Health

One Place currently employs two mental health practitioners to provide support to children and families receiving services in the Child Advocacy Center. Our providers offer Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT), Alternatives for Families Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (AF-CBT), and Child Family Traumatic Stress Intervention (CFTSI), as therapeutic modalities. These types of therapy help children and their non-offending parents or caregivers overcome the trauma caused by the abuse of the child. Research has shown them  to be effective in resolving a wide array of emotional and behavioral issues associated with the trauma of abuse or neglect. Access to specialized mental health services is critical for abused children and their families to move forward in the healing process.

Providers work with both the child and non-offending caregiver(s) to address Adverse Childhood Experience (ACE) scores, learn how these scores impact their physical health, and share resources and tools to help the family reduce symptoms related to their ACE score. TF-CBT can reduce depression and anxiety symptoms and enhance coping skills which facilitates improved emotional well-being, self-esteem, relationships, and personal empowerment. Successful completion of TF-CBT shows an 80% reduction in Post Traumatic Stress Disorder symptoms.

One Place plans to expand mental health services with additional clinicians and therapeutic modalities as part of the SECU Hope Center project. Click here to help fund the future of child mental health at the SECU Hope Center.