The Children’s Advocacy Center Supports Kansas City’s kids
Help, Hope, and Healing All Under One Roof
Synergy Services’ Children’s Advocacy Center (CAC) creates one home for all of the services needed by a child who has experienced or witnessed abuse. This eliminates the need for a child to have to share their story multiple times to doctors, police officers, lawyers, therapists, investigators, judges, and others.
The Synergy Services CAC is located at:Â
6080 North Oak Trafficway
Gladstone, MO 64118
Every day at a Children’s Advocacy Center...
Children and adolescents connect with trained forensic interviewers to navigate healing.
Children, adolescents, and their caregivers are given access to community resources, services, and support to help the child and family heal.
Forensic interviewers, mental health professionals, law enforcement officers, medical providers, prosecutors, victim advocates, and other multi-disciplinary team members collaborate to advocate for each case while working hand in hand.
Benefits of the Children's Advocacy Center Model
The CAC Team is comprised of dedicated and compassionate staff who provide wraparound services to a family in many capacities. Learn more about the CAC model of help. Please reach out to us if you have questions or need resources.
This unique structure and model of the CAC is designed to ensure children are supported by everyone, together. Our systems must protect children. Together we can.
Discover Our Children's Advocacy Center Values
At Synergy Services’ CAC we have found that the combination of Believing, Supporting, and Protecting is the most effective way to help a child navigate a traumatic event.Â
Believing...
Your child and letting them know it is not their fault is very important to the healing process. It can be hard to believe that a person has done harm to your child especially if that person is someone you love and trust. Perpetrators of abuse often manipulate the trusted adults that surround a child, which can make the abuse seem unbelievable.
Supporting...
Your child during the investigative phases and the healing process will build trust and resilience in your child and the family system. Children whose caregivers are supportive heal more quickly from abuse, so even if you have doubts about the abuse details themselves, it is important to communicate to your child that you support them.
Protecting...
Your child is the most important step a caregiver can take to help their child heal from trauma. Restricting contact with the alleged abuser either completely or as much as a court or custody order will allow will build trust and ensure the ongoing safety of your child. The CAC Victim Advocate can help your family strategize ways to protect your child from future abuse.
CAC FAQs
A forensic interview is a neutral, information gathering interaction with a child intended to elicit detailed information about allegations of maltreatment that the child may have experienced or witnessed. Forensic interviewers have specialized training and ask non-leading, developmentally appropriate questions to obtain the child’s statement. The interview is video and audio recorded and the information is used to assist in the investigation of allegations or suspicions of abuse and neglect. Our CAC utilizes a multidisciplinary approach to prevent the child from experiencing additional trauma through repetitive interviews.
The purpose of the medical examination is to help ensure health, safety and well-being of children seen at the CAC. Our providers have pediatric experience and expertise in child abuse and neglect. This specialized training assists them in differentiating medical findings that are indicative of abuse from those which may be explained by other medical conditions or caused by accident. During the exam, children are also assessed for any unmet medical needs and emotional or behavioral problems in which the child may benefit from further evaluation and treatment.
Through partnership with Children’s Mercy, our team is able to connect youth and adolescents to the following community resources, as needed.
- SAFE (Sexual Abuse Forensic Exams)
- Photo/Video Documentation
- Forensic Evidence Collection
- STI & Pregnancy Tests
- Acute & Non-Acute Exams
- CARE (Child At Risk Exams)
- Photo documentation of skin findings
- Radiographic assessment if needed
- Skeletal Survey
- CT Scan/MRI
- Lab Assessments
- Hospital Consultations
Don’t promise – Many things are uncertain, especially in the beginning. Additionally, try not to make promises to your child about what will happen with the offender or the investigation. Finally, do not promise that they will not have to talk about what happened ever again, including at court. It is better to tell your child that you don’t know rather than answer a question incorrectly. We strongly recommend not promising rewards if they talk with the interviewer, or another professional, so they do not feel bribed or forced into talking. Our goal is to provide a space where kids feel safe to share their experiences.
More than 22,000 partnering businesses and community locations
Synergy Services is proud to partner with:
