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Child Advocacy Center

The Child Advocacy Center provides expert forensic interviews and medical examinations of children who are alleged victims of sexual and/or physical abuse or witnesses to violence. This program is housed at Black Hills Pediatrics and Neonatology, and operates in partnership with Rapid City Regional Hospital and Children's Home Society. The primary goal of the Child Advocacy Center is to reduce a child's trauma by eliminating repeated interviews and medical examinations by multiple investigative parties. The Center provides one coordinated interview and a physical exam, and provides superior evidence in child abuse investigations. The interview process may be observed on closed-circuit television by the referring social worker and law enforcement officer. The Child Advocacy Center also provides comprehensive training in Understanding Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACES) , Enough Abuse Campaign, Trauma Informed Care/Response, Mandatory Reporting/handling child abuse disclosures, and Multidisciplinary Child Abuse Investigations. Trainings are open to the entire state and are detailed to the requesting audience. Trainings, based on topics, are appropriate for caregivers, system professionals, and community members. CHS partners with the Center of Prevention of Child Maltreatment and state agencies to host, support, and provide trainer support in the ACEs and EnoughAbuse curriculums.

Location

1330 Jolly Lane, Rapid City, SD 57703

Hours

8:00am - 4:00pm (MT), Monday - Friday

Application process

Call for information

Eligibility

Primarily serving children ages 3-17. Referrals for formal services can only be made by law enforcement or Child Protection Services.

Agency info

Children's Home Society of South Dakota

Empowers children, adults, families, and communities to be resilient, safe, healthy and strong in a world that stands up to trauma.