Child Advocacy Centres (CAC) are child-focused centres that coordinate the investigation, prosecution, and treatment of child abuse while helping abused children. They adopt a seamless and collaborative approach to addressing the needs of child and youth victims of crime. CACs seek to minimize system-induced trauma by providing a child-friendly setting for a young victim and his or her family. Child and Youth Advocacy Centres (CYAC) offer the same services as a CAC, but to a broader age-range of victims.
Child Advocacy Centres bring together a multidisciplinary team of police, child protection, medical services, mental health services, and victim services. Professional services offered by CACs include coordinated forensic interviews; examination of the child by a medical professional; victim advocacy, including court preparation and support; trauma assessment; and counselling.
CACs help children and their families navigate the justice system in a number of ways. For example, CACs provide a child or youth with a safe and comfortable environment in which to be interviewed by criminal justice professionals and seek to reduce the number of interviews and questions directed at a child, thereby minimizing system-induced trauma. CACs may also provide education and training to justice professionals on best practices for interviewing child victims and witnesses. For example, interviews recorded by video are an effective method for gathering valuable information that can help both the young victim and the justice system. Ultimately, CACs lead to better communication between agencies supporting young victims and to increased access to services for young victims and their families or caregivers.
It has been shown that investigations conducted by CACs are cost-effective and can expedite decision making by Crown prosecutors laying criminal charges. Parents whose children receive services from CACs are more satisfied with the investigation process and interview procedures, and those children who attend CACs are generally satisfied with the investigation and are more likely to state they were not scared during the forensic interviewing process.
Since 2010, the Government of Canada has allocated $10.25 million for new or enhanced Child Advocacy Centres to address the needs of child and youth victims of crime. CACs that have benefited from Government of Canada funding, either directly or through funding provided to one of their partners, include the following:
- Nova Scotia
- Sea Star Child and Youth Advocacy Centre Demonstration Project, Halifax
- Quebec
- Centre d'expertise Marie-Vincent, Montréal
- Ontario
- Child and Youth Advocacy Centre at BOOST, Toronto
- Kristen French Child Advocacy Centre Niagara, St. Catharines
- Koala Place Child and Youth Advocacy Centre, Cornwall
- Child Advocacy Centre of Simcoe/Muskoka, Orillia
- Manitoba
- Snowflake Place for Children and Youth Inc., Winnipeg
- Saskatchewan
- Saskatoon Centre for Children's Justice, Saskatoon
- Regina Children's Justice Centre, Regina
- Alberta
- Caribou Child and Youth Advocacy Centre, Grand Prairie
- Sheldon Kennedy Child Advocacy Centre, Calgary
- British Columbia
- Sophie's Place Child Advocacy Centre, Surrey
- Alisa's Wish Child and Youth Advocacy Centre, Maple Ridge–Pitt Meadows
The Government has also provided funding for projects that explore the creation, development or adaptation of the CAC model in the following communities:
- Ontario
- Brampton
- Kitchener
- Ottawa
- Sioux Lookout
- British Columbia
- Vancouver (Vancouver Child and Youth Advocacy Centre project)
- West Kootenay Boundary (Safe Kids & Youth (SKY) Coordinated Response)
- Vernon (North Okanagan Child and Youth Advocacy Centre project)
- Victoria (ORCA)
- Yukon
- Whitehorse (Project Lynx)
- Northwest Territories
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February 2015
Department of Justice Canada
