Will County Children's Advocacy Center

The Will County Children's Advocacy Center was founded in 1995 by State's Attorney James Glasgow to partner with multidisciplinary teams (MDTs) comprised of law enforcement, DCFS investigators, medical personnel, prosecutors, and Will County CAC forensic interviewers, family advocates, and trauma therapists in response to reports of severe physical abuse, sexual abuse, commercial exploitation, neglect, and exposure to violence of children, in Will County, IL.

Our Will County CAC intake/MDT coordinator, forensic interviewers, family advocates, and trauma therapists provide the following services:

* Forensic Interviews: After a child is referred to the Will County CAC by law enforcement or the IL Dept. of Family Services (DCFS), our Intake Coordinator schedules a forensic interview for the child. One of our 4 forensic interviewers listens to the child’s story and asks non-leading, developmentally-appropriate questions as the child talks about the trauma he/she has experienced. Law enforcement, prosecution, DCFS, and mental health professionals observe the interview from a separate room. This reduces trauma for the child and provides a stronger foundation if the case goes to court.

* Family Advocacy: Our family advocates are committed to helping each family navigate the complex systems that a family enters when a child makes an outcry of abuse. As each case goes through the investigation, prosecution and healing process, the team is there to help the family understand the process, learn about their rights and successfully access resources that will help their family during crisis.

* Trauma-Focused Therapy: Our team of licensed clinical social workers provide short-term, trauma informed therapy to children who have received a forensic interview. Since child abuse affects the whole family, the services are available at no cost to both the child and their non-offending family members. Individual and group therapy is offered in English and Spanish.