Description
In 1995, before the Children’s Advocacy Center was established, Lowndes County had over 1,100 cases of child abuse reported to the Department of Family and Children Services. Only 310 were confirmed cases of child abuse, with twelve arrests and ten convictions. Given this failing system, in 1996 the Lowndes County Abuse Protocol Committee recommended the formation of a task force to evaluate establishing a CAC. Task force members attended training in Huntsville, Alabama, worked diligently to create a CAC that met state and national standards, and raised funds for the center’s operational expenses.
In June 1997, the task force officially became the Board of Directors of the Children’s Advocacy Center of Lowndes County, Inc. receiving non-profit corporate status. Help and healing for the abused children and their non-offending family members began and prosecution rates have since increased tremendously.
In October 2017 the Board of Directors and Center Staff opened the doors on a brand new facility at 3325 Skipper Bridge Road in Valdosta, GA. The land for the new site was donated by the Vallotton Family and the building was built with a Community Block Grant. The CAC has grown from one employee to eight employees including an Executive Director, Clinical Director, Child & Adolescent Therapist, Community Based Therapist, Caregiver Support Therapist, Forensic Director, Forensic Interviewer/ Family Advocate and Office Manager. The CAC has served thousands of children and their families.
