Center will provide location
for coordinated investigation
FREEHOLD — Monmouth County Prosecutor John Kaye has announced the formation of a nonprofit organization, the Friends of the Monmouth County Child Advocacy Center (CAC).
The CAC is committed to raising funds for the building and operational expenses of a Child Advocacy Center in Monmouth County, according to a press release. Members of the board are chairman Dr. Martin Krupnick, a psychologist practicing in Freehold; Dr. Mary Anne Cernak; and LuAnn Tansey, a former sergeant with the prosecutor’s office.
The prosecutor’s office has taken the lead role in the development of the Child Advocacy Center.
The CAC will improve the community’s response to child abuse cases and will enable the community to best protect the children of Monmouth County, according to a press release from the prosecutor’s office.
The CAC will provide one safe place, child-friendly and child-appropriate, where all members of the professional team who investigate a disclosure can meet to do their work in a multidisciplinary fashion.
Law enforcement, prosecutors, DYFS personnel, victim/witness advocates, and medical and mental health professionals will all work together under one roof to conduct their aspects of the investigation and treatment, coordinating their efforts. The CAC will be accessible to victims, non-offending family members and the professionals working with them 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
The Monmouth County Board of Freeholders has committed to provide a site for the CAC. They have also committed to the maintenance of the building as a county facility once construction is complete. An interagency agreement has been signed by all the participating agencies and the various multidisciplinary team agencies have committed to co-locating at the CAC.
With the support of the state Legislature and the National Children’s Alliance, significant strides have been accomplished toward the fruition of this project. According to the press release, 65 percent of the construction documents have been completed to date. Detailed architectural drawings, a model and rendering of the future CAC have been developed.
The Monmouth County CAC is an associate member of the National Children’s Alliance. This organization, supported by funds from the federal government, sets standards for CACs and helps communities around the country develop them. Associate membership status indicates that Monmouth County’s child abuse response agencies meet all of the standards of a CAC, with the exception of the requirement of a separate facility.
Donations can be made to the Friends of the Monmouth County CAC through the offices of its counsel, Ron Reich, 9 Broadway, Freehold 07728; telephone, (732) 462-9292.