MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Md. — April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month, but advocating for local youth goes beyond the 30-day month. And a local child advocacy center is talking about just that as they continue every day efforts to support families.
The Tree House Child Advocacy Center of Montgomery County, Maryland has been serving the community since 2002, and in 2016 they became an independent 501c3, with their mission remaining the same. That mission is to put 100% of their focus on the child and the trauma they have experienced and to protect them as they go through the investigation and potentially prosecution process, as well as to provide the services that they need so they can start the healing process and start to live full lives, the executive director for Tree House, Charlie Regan stated.
And to put into prospective how important the resource is to the community, Regan says last year they provided services for almost 900 clients or children and their families.
"When I say services, there was over 5,300 services," Regan said. "And that service could be mental health services, medical services, forensic interviewing, family advocate, working with them on helping them file protective orders or prepping them for court, should it go to court, you know, that child, and making them feel more comfortable, you know, if they’re called upon to testify."
The child advocacy center (CAC) sees anywhere from 800 to 900 kids a year, and they are working to expand services to reach even more children who are in need. Though numbers have remained consistent in regards to the kids in need, it felt "like a tidal wave" coming out of COVID.
"For two years there, it looked like child abuse had gone way down just because people were not reporting it. Everyone was in their homes. So we are certainly back up to pre-COVID levels," Regan said.
This is because the majority of reports come from schools, and with students being virtual during the pandemic those children were not able to confide in school officials. It is mandatory for authority figures, and that could be a teacher, a coach, doctors, someone giving piano lessons, as well as others who see signs of abuse to report it.
The process starts after there is a report of suspicion of child abuse to an investigative agency, which will then lead to the CAC, which offers four main kind of services, starting with the forensic interview. Regan says they are very fortunate in Montgomery County to have the four areas, the interview, the medical, the mental health, and the family advocacy, all under one roof, as this isn't the case for all child advocacy centers.
"We think of ourselves as surrounding that child," he said.
At the center, a specialized forensic interviewer would sit and talk to the child, and that is observed by other agencies including police and social workers from child protective services.
"The idea is that child just had to be interviewed and relive that trauma once, and then we can take from there that child and move on to the other services to start, like I said, the healing process," Regan said.
There is then medical with their in-house child abuse pediatrician and a child abuse RN, providing exams and evaluations. Family advocates work with the families to ensure that they are equipped to help that child outside of Tree House. There are also trauma therapists that specialize in working with children. And Regan says they are the only organization in the county offering these services for free.
At the center, 85% or more of the cases they deal with is sexual abuse. Regan says the biggest issue with this is that sexual abuse oftentimes doesn't manifest itself outwardly as much. With physical abuse there is bruising that can be seen, and secondly sexual abuse also more often than not goes unreported or is delayed.
"Particularly with children, there is a stigma, a shame," Regan said.
A lot of times this type of abuse happens with someone with a position of authority over them, and they are sometimes not aware something is wrong. In addition, a lot of time it can be hard to look for a particular 'tell' when it comes to children who have been abused, such as a personality change. He says there is no easy way to look for this type of abuse.
When talking about statistics, Regan says, if a person is sexually abused as a child, they are less likely than the average American to turn into an abuser.
"However, it manifests itself negatively in many other ways," Regan said. "You know, potentially, you know, your lacks of friendships, it really affects mental health all through their life."
Which is why Regan said it is important to get the child the help they need as soon as possible. For parents, though they might not see signs of abuse, Regan says the number one thing is to believe them when they tell you what happened.
"You’ll never understand what they’re going through, but know that they’re going through something and then seek to get them some help from an emotional, mental health standpoint," he said.
As Tree House continues to advocate for children, they have been primarily focused on sexual and physical abuse versus assault. Regan explains the difference is abuse is categorized as someone who knows you whereas assault is essentially a stranger. The hope is as they grow their capacity they will be able to help more assault victims as well, as their services are not limited to children who have been abused.
Regan sees the child advocacy center helping children of all sorts of trauma in the future, and has started working towards that plan now.
"Children that have witnessed violence in their homes, children that have experienced loss in their, you know, have a sibling or a parent in an accident. So those are all types of trauma that we are equipped to help children with is a capacity at this point," Regan said. "We’ve put in some new programs or initiating some new programs. Working with Montgomery County Public School system for children as a resource for them, we expanded our hours and our availability and our accessibility."
Though they are battling limitations such as budget and physical capacity, they are actively increasing what they are able to provide to meet the need put before them. To start tackling this, awareness is critical -- awareness that they are a resource, and Tree House isn't the only child advocacy center in the state. Regan says actually every county in Maryland has one, and they are just one of five nonprofit CACs in the state.
Do you have a news tip on this story or any other story? We want to hear from you. Tell us about it by emailing newstips@wusa9.com.
MORE WAYS TO GET WUSA9
DOWNLOAD THE WUSA9 APP
Apple App Store: WUSA9 News on Apple
Google Play Store: WUSA9 News on Android
HOW TO ADD THE FREE WUSA9+ APP TO YOUR STREAMING DEVICE
ROKU: add the channel from the ROKU store or by searching for WUSA9.
For both Apple TV and Fire TV, search for "WUSA9" to find the free app to add to your account. Another option for Fire TV is to have the app delivered directly to your Fire TV through Amazon.
SIGN UP TO RECEIVE WUSA9 NEWSLETTER
Subscribe to our daily WUSA9 Newsletter for top stories from WUSA9 curated daily just for you. Get content and information right now for can’t-miss stories, Commanders content, weather, and more delivered right to your inbox.