It Shouldn’t Hurt to Be a Child Foothills Child Advocacy Center Good day! Thank you for this opportunity. My name is Cathee Johnson Phillips, and I am executive director of Foothills Child Advocacy Center. We were founded in 2006 to help abused children. We are fully accredited by the National Children’s Alliance and a private, independent, nonprofit 501(c)3 organization. It Shouldn’t Hurt to Be a Child Fluvanna County Board of Supervisors December 17, 2018

Thank you! Thank you so much for your funding this year, FY19! Thank you for your consideration for FY20!

What is child abuse? In Virginia, child abuse includes: Mental Abuse (Emotional) Neglect/Medical Neglect Physical Abuse Sexual Abuse Substance Exposed Infant Any child under 18 Under the Virginia law, an abused or neglected child is any child under 18 whose parent, or any other person responsible for the care of the child: causes, or threatens to cause, a physical or mental injury except for an accident. fails to provide adequate food, clothing, shelter, medical care, or caring support. abandons the child. fails to provide the kind of supervision necessary for a child’s age or level of development. commits, or allows to be committed, any illegal sexual act involving the child — including incest, rape, fondling, indecent exposure, prostitution — or allows the child to be used in any sexually explicit visual material.

CPS Accepted Referrals by Locality FY 2018 Referrals for Mental Neglect, Physical Neglect, Physical Abuse, and Sexual Abuse EMPHASIZE CPS ONLY This shows mental neglect, physical neglect, physical abuse, and sexual abuse. Total of 2,567 accepted referrals, 748 investigations, and 395 founded

How prevalent is child sexual and physical abuse in Fluvanna County? 39 CPS referrals and 10 LE referrals The top line is the number of referrals that CPS has ACCEPTED for SEXUAL AND PHYSICAL ABUSE of children. EMPHASIZE CPS – SOME OF THE CHILDREN SERVED COULD HAVE BEEN LAW ENFORCEMENT REFERRALS The bottom line is the number of children from Fluvanna County for which we received referrals from Law Enforcement and CPS – children served. – 10 referrals from Sherriff and 39 from CPS - Later I’ll show you a chart illustrating that Total of 399 accepted referrals since FY2012. Total Sexual abuse allegations = 94 and Physical = 305. .

The children need a safe place. One way that we do this is to provide a safe, child-friendly facility for them to come to and talk about what happened In Fluvanna, that safe place is at the Department of Social Services. Imagine how difficult it must be for a child to talk about something like sexual abuse to a stranger. The child may be afraid of getting into trouble – or getting their abuser into trouble. In fact, 60 percent of children never tell anyone about their abuse. A child must feel secure and safe to talk about what has happened. The interview is recorded and observed by law enforcement and child protective services, so that the child doesn’t have to be interviewed over and over again. That reduces re-traumatization for the child and helps the child to move forward.

Our Services A child-friendly, safe place for the child and family; Legally sound child forensic interviews conducted by our neutral, professional forensic interviewer; Forensic medical evaluations; Family support services, such as risk, needs, and trauma assessments, education, and referrals for mental health, medical, and other needed services; and Participation in ongoing case review.   Besides a safe place and child forensic interviews, we provide family support at possible and assist in ongoing case review.

The Fluvanna County Child Abuse Multidisciplinary Team (MDT) Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office Department of Social Services Sherriff’s Office Victim/Witness Office And Foothills We support the family throughout the investigative and treatment process. We assist and participate in the Fluvanna County Child Abuse Multidisciplinary Team (MDT). The Fluvanna County MDT members include: Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office Department of Social Services Sherriff’s Office Victim/Witness Office And Foothills Other nonprofits who are our partners also provide services to these children. We all work together to make sure the family has all of the services and support it needs, to reduce gaps in services, and to reduce duplication of services.

Fluvanna Referrals to Foothills Here you can see the breakdown for CPS and LE referrals. Please keep in mind that some cases are jointly investigated by both – this just shows who referred the child to Foothills. More children are receiving the recommended services since our staff has been coming to Foothills. .

Fluvanna Residents Served Time Period Children Caregivers TOTALS FY 12 - FY 16 42 49 91 FY 17 36 79 FY 18 32 81 FY 19 through 11/30/2018 22 15 37 TOTAL 155 132 287 FY 19 Projected 53 89 FY 20 Projected 60 40 100 The program to bring services to Fluvanna is working! As a result, in FY 2017, 42 children were served – the same number as in the previous FOUR YEARS. The number of children served continues to increase. In FY 2018 (July 1, 2017, through June 30, 2018), Foothills served 49 new children and their families from Fluvanna. That number represents an increase of 8, or 20 percent, over FY 2017. Thirty-one of these children were served on site in Fluvanna, and 17 children were served at the Charlottesville facility. The program is working!

COST PER CHILD PROJECTED FOR 2020 = $200 Savings/Benefits to Fluvanna County Time/$$$ Maximizes investigators’ time Less driving to Charlottesville and back; reduces mileage costs; Receive more accurate information from child that aids the MDT members in making decisions on charging, prosecution, and treatment in a more timely manner; Assistance in acquiring resources and referrals for children and families, especially in non-caretaker cases. Benefit to victims Can receive help where they live; Reduces transportation and work barriers; Have greater access to services, especially in non-caretaker cases; Reduce likelihood that child must enter foster care. Savings of $1,318 per case Communities that have developed a CAC experience many benefits, including a reduction in the number of child victim interviews and increased successful prosecution.  Studies also indicate that communities with a CAC versus communities using the traditional CPS-Law Enforcement response to child abuse saves $1,318 per child abuse case, according to National Children's Advocacy Center researchers in Huntsville, AL.  The study also found that traditional investigations cost 45% more than CAC investigations. COST PER CHILD PROJECTED FOR 2020 = $200

Respectfully Requesting $12,000 Funding Request Total Cost of Program for Five Counties in FY 2018 49 of 100 children served were from Fluvanna, or 49% Total Cost for Fluvanna LESS: Covered by VOCA grant TOTAL NEEDED for FY 2020 $58,886.00 X.49 $28,854.00 - $9,184.00 $19,670.00 Forensic Interviewer Services $31,753.00 Family Support Services $18,742.00 Mileage $4,276.00 Administration $3,432.00 Printing $683.00 TOTAL ACTUAL COSTS in FY 2017 $58,886.00 Foothills is seeking funding from the five counties served by the Child Abuse Victim Outreach Expansion Program (Buckingham, Fluvanna, Greene, Madison, and Nelson). In FY 2018, Foothills served a total of 100 new children from these localities. Forty-nine of these children, or 49 percent, were referred by Fluvanna County CPS or Law Enforcement. • The total annual cost for serving the five counties in FY 2018 was $58,886. The total annual cost for bringing services to Fluvanna children and families is 49 percent of that, or $28,854.00. • A renewable VOCA grant administered by the Virginia Department of Social Services, will cover the cost ($9,184) of the ongoing family support services for FY 2020 for Fluvanna families. That leaves a balance of $19,670 that will be needed to provide these services in FY 2020. • Foothills respectfully requests $12,000.00 towards providing services to child victims and their families from Fluvanna County in FY 2020. We are asking other counties for: Fluvanna - $10,000; Buckingham - $4,500; Greene -- $4,000; Madison -- $2,000; AND Nelson – no opportunity Respectfully Requesting $12,000

Cathee Johnson Phillips, cjphillips@foothillscac.org, 434-971-7233 Thank you! Thank you very much for your consideration. Cathee Johnson Phillips, cjphillips@foothillscac.org, 434-971-7233