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Learn about us through our video. Our mission and purpose Our goal is to ensure that every low-income child in Denver who has been traumatized by sexual abuse, or by witnessing homicide or domestic violence receives immediate, compassionate and effective investigation, assessment and, if needed, mental health treatment. DCAC never charges for its services. DCAC is unique in that it provides :
Read more about DCAC in our 2005 Annual Report.
Meet Michael Michael's mother, Dometria Carbajal, was trying to escape from a violent marriage. She had taken her son away and was filing for divorce, but her husband continued to phone and visit, and even stalk her whenever she left the house. On June 6, 2004 Marcelino Carbajal beat his wife to death... Read more about Michael Executive Committee
President: Matthew Hogan, Esq.
Members Staff Mandy Riff - Development Geri Badler - Communications Paul Smith - CPA JoAnn Howe - Office Manager Raquel Hernandez - Victim Advocate Assessment and Treatment Program Forensic Interview Program Clinical Consultants Sponsors Interested in becoming a sponsor? Foundations, Government and Business Donors Benefactors of Children ($10,000 and up) Supporters of Children ($5,000 - $9,999) Advocates of Children ($1,000 - $4,999) Friends of Children ($100 - $999) Individual Donors Advocates of Children ($1,000 - $4,999) *Sylvia Sich and Phil Baca Friends of Children ($100 - $999) *Champions of Children pledge $5,000 or more to DCAC over a five-year period. (Most pledge $1,000 per year, but some very generous people are able to give more.) Champions come in all shapes and sizes including individuals, churches, civic groups and companies. This special group ensures that services provided through Denver Children's Advocacy Center are always available by underwriting the general operating expenses. For more information, call 303-825-3850 or sign up online. Capital Campaign Contributors for 2139 Federal Boulevard Members of the DCAC Board of Directors Collaboration- DCAC's Partners All of us, to the very best of our ability, try to put aside personal and agency-related egos to do what is best for the child. Each of the agencies involved with DCAC has a particular treatment specialty or approach and we all refer cases to the place where we believe the child has the best option for a full recovery. DCAC is very proud of this successful multidisciplinary approach to the investigation of crimes against children. DCAC's forensic interviewers work as a team with the Denver Police Department, the Denver District Attorney's Office, the Denver Department of Human Services and Denver Health Medical Center to improve criminal investigations while protecting the wellbeing of child victims. One of our most rewarding collaborations is with the ChildTrauma Academy of Houston, Texas under the leadership of Dr. Bruce Perry. Gizane Indart is a fellow of the Academy, which focuses on research, training and system-wide solutions to the problems of child abuse and maltreatment. DCAC also participates in academic research studies, the latest being a project with the University of Denver under the overall direction of Dr. Anne DePrince. DCAC is proud to collaborate with the following organizations: The Children's Hospital Before child advocacy centers were created, child victims of crime might have to tell their stories to more than a dozen adults - police officers, prosecutors, doctors and social workers. They could be shuttled all over town giving depositions, getting medical exams, and, if the family had no money to pay for treatment, putting their name on a long waiting list for free counseling services. There was very little coordination between the various agencies and children were traumatized all over again as they sought help. In some of the saddest cases, abused children simply fell through the cracks in the system that was supposed to save them. A 1992 survey of 300 professionals from Denver's city and county agencies confirmed this breakdown of communication between investigators, prosecutors, human services and mental health agencies. In 1996, DCAC began to provide treatment to child victims ages seven through seventeen, although with no home of our own we had to provide services off-site. We finally found a home in 1998 - one half of a duplex at 1271 Elati Street. In 2000, we began to meet the needs of very young victims of sexual abuse by lowering the age limit for treatment to 3 years old, and we began aquiring a reputation for our vital services to these small children. By 2001 we were serving so many children that we expanded into the entire brownstone on Elati Street. With the 2002 hiring of executive director Gizane Indart, a bilingual, bicultural professional, we pursued our mission to reach out to the underserved Spanish-speaking families who had nowhere to go for treatment. In 2003, the City Club of Denver honored us with its James Grafton Rogers Award for "an extraordinary and timeless contribution to the quality of life in the Denver region." In 2004, we hired additional bilingual, bicultural therapists and began serving children as young as two years old. We also signed an historic memorandum of understanding with the Denver Polic Department, the Denver District Attorney's Office and the Denver Department of Human Services to conduct all forensic interviews of children under 15 where sexual abuse is suspected or where the child has witnessed homicide or other violent crimes. And we became the proud owner of a new home at 2149 Federal Boulevard. Today, all of the services needed by child victims and their families - forensic interviews, medical exams, assessment and treatment, and victim support services - are clustered around one child-friendly central Denver location. DCAC is the hub where representatives from many disciplines meet to discuss and make decisions about the investigation, assessment, treatment and prosecution of child abuse cases. They work together in the best interests of the children, providing an immediate response and ongoing support to help families recover from the trauma of abuse or violence. DCAC provides most services in its own bright and welcoming building, and coordinates others with neighboring facilities. |
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