Help us give them Room to Heal

At a projected cost of $5.2 million, this 17,000 square foot expansion and remodel of our existing space will provide for co-location with Lincoln Police Department Special Victims Unit, medical evaluations for every child, triage space for children awaiting foster care placement, as well as additional training and prevention staff and increased on-site mental health services.

Since 1998, the Child Advocacy Center has served as the primary response to child abuse in Southeast Nebraska. Now, we are looking to the next 20 years and the proactive stance we need to take against child abuse.

While we are proud of the strides made on behalf of child survivors thus far, we recognize there is still much to be done. We are currently working on a capital campaign project that will allow for the Lincoln Police Department Special Victims Unit to office on-site at the CAC. The Lincoln Police Department will be moving the Special Victims Unit into our new space upon building completion, projected for Spring of 2023. Additional building space is needed for this purpose along with the needs of our expanded services. This will result in better collaboration, higher quality services for child survivors, and improved legal outcomes in our efforts with the prosecution of their abusers. Our agency partnership is stronger than ever, and we are actively planning to accommodate the current needs of our teams that will also allow for future expansion. The Lincoln Police Department shares equal excitement in this next phase of our collaborative efforts to protect the children in our community.

The impact of COVID-19 in the last year has exacerbated the pre-existing health and safety concerns for child victims of abuse. To better address victim needs, the CAC Capital Campaign efforts will be focused on the following four priority areas:

• Co-location with the Lincoln Police Department Special Victims Unit
• Expansion of our Medical Program, specifically by
  • Hiring full-time medical staff to afford us the ability to provide medical exams to every child victim of abuse or neglect;
  • Assuming the primary responsibility of providing acute SANE exams on-site, which are currently conducted in hospital emergency rooms, taking an average for 4-6 hours per child in an intimidating environment; and
  • Implementing a process that allows the successful collection and secure storage of evidence from medical exams to be used toward the investigation and prosecution of perpetrators
• Addition of a triage space for children being removed from their homes
• Expansion of the Training and Prevention Program, specifically to
  • Offer education in classroom settings;
  • Increase training efforts in rural counties

We are overjoyed to share this next evolution with you. We want to assure you that the CAC is there to provide the very best in care and support as we continue to help child victims share their truths for many years to come.

We invite you to join us in the next phase of our journey to bring hope and healing to child victims of abuse.