Photo by Erin Nelson.
Family advocate and forensic investigator Tori Overton and Executive Director Vetrica Hill sit with Fitz, a 4-year-old service-trained facility dog at Owens House, the Shelby County Children’s Advocacy Center in Columbiana.
April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month. It serves as a time to recognize the importance of families and communities working together to strengthen families to prevent child abuse and neglect.
According to the Alabama Network of Child Advocacy Centers, in most cases, children who are abused or neglected suffer greater emotional pain than physical damage. Recognizing the importance of early trauma to future development is crucial to assisting the victim, the organization and other experts say.
280 Living recently spoke to several agencies that are focused on helping those victims.
Shelby County Department of Human Resources
Shelby County DHR is responsible for assessing the safety of children and determining whether a family is capable of providing proper care. Director Kim Mashego said their priority is to keep children in their homes with their families whenever this can be accomplished safely, and they offer a variety of support and intervention services to help make this possible.
Mashego shared that during FY 2021, Shelby County DHR investigated 1,486 reports (involving 2,079 children) of possible child abuse and neglect.
They currently provide services to 378 children and their families to help them remain together safely in their homes and currently serve 173 children in foster care.
Shelby County DHR makes referrals to Owens House for forensic interviews of children, which usually follow a traumatic experience. Owens House is the child advocacy center in Shelby County, and it works with other entities in the county to assist children who are victims of child abuse to help them throughout the process.
DHR receives many cases from people who work directly with children, such as educators, child care workers, medical professionals and law enforcement. In addition, family members, relatives, neighbors and anyone else who suspects child abuse and/or neglect can make a report to our office.
A child advocacy center
Owens House is a nonprofit advocacy organization located in Columbiana that serves the entire county, and which is committed to providing a place of refuge and opportunities for justice and healing to the children they serve.
Its mission is to equip the Shelby County community to protect, strengthen and restore those who have experienced child abuse and trauma and their vision is to stop child abuse and provide healing to those who have experienced trauma.
Vetrica Hill took over as executive director of Owens House in January. She and the staff work to provide a warm, friendly atmosphere to allow the children to tell their story.
“Something not a lot of people are not aware of is that we are the largest child advocacy center in Alabama (out of 36 throughout the state), and Shelby County is the largest in the state,” Hill said. “People who work in this discipline know about child advocacy centers and others outside that do not.”
Owens House uses a multidisciplinary approach during the interview process, which is also recorded, so the child doesn’t have to repeat it multiple times. Each forensic interview follows a precise, evidence-based protocol in order to ensure accurate information is gathered. Last year, Owens House completed more than 450 of these interviews.
“A forensic interviewer from Owens House conducts the one-on-one interview with the child,” Hill said. “The multidisciplinary team, composed of DHR, law enforcement professionals and a medical physician watch as the interview is recorded. They come together and determine if abuse has taken place, and if so, what kind and how long.”
The team collaborates on every case and meets monthly to review each individual they have served and how they can continue to advocate, provide for, and protect them.
Shelby County DHR receives many cases from people who work directly with children, such as educators, child care workers, medical professionals and law enforcement, Mashego said. In addition, family members, relatives, neighbors and anyone else who suspects child abuse and/or neglect can make a report to their office.
“Our process involves working with caregivers, law enforcement, the judicial system and many other community partners to ensure the safety of children, while offering services tailored to the unique needs of families,” Mashego said.” Some of these services include budgeting, counseling, educational support, substance abuse treatment and domestic violence intervention.”
The role of Shelby County Sheriff’s Department
Sgt. Robert Rodriguez is an investigator for the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office and also serves as a board member for Owens House. He said before the multidisciplinary approach, the child would have to tell their story nine times and now they only have to tell it once.
“It’s a really good format for investigating those kinds of cases,” he said. “The investigator assigned to the case will be present during the interview at Owens House and gets a chance to hear the details of the incident and has the opportunity to meet with the family and walk with them through the process.”
Rodriguez said when questioned, an estimated 80 percent of perpetrators will admit to the crime and the process moves forward. Other times, perpetrators will not admit to the crime and law enforcement will continue to gather facts and evidence which they take back to the multidisciplinary team and the District Attorney’s office to discuss.
“The DA has been great and very aggressive toward prosecuting and bringing the maximum [penalty] to the people who hurt these children,” Rodriguez said. “We are blessed to have the DA and judges we have here in Shelby County.”
One of the myths of sexual abuse is that it is committed by strangers, when the majority of child abuse seen in law enforcement is perpetrated by family members, Rodriguez said. This can lead to delayed disclosures because the victim is afraid to come forward with the accusation and can be manipulated not to report it.
However, there is no statute of limitations for child abuse. Rodriguez said most of the time, the accused has abused more than one person and when one victim comes forward, others have the courage to do the same.
“The way it was handled years ago compared to now, there are so many resources for families to gain that strength and courage and hope to keep going during this process. So many organizations like Owens House provide services to the child who’s been traumatized but also for family members to help them keep fighting and give them hope that this is not the end,” Rodriguez said.
The most important thing a parent can do is to have that open communication with their child where they feel that no matter what they tell their parents, they will be there for them and support them and believe them, Rodriguez said.
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Photos by Erin Nelson.
Fitz, a 4-year-old service-trained facility dog, lays in the waiting room at Owens House.
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Photos by Erin Nelson.
Cards with information about Fitz and challenge coins are given to each child that comes to Owens House. Fitz works with victims and witnesses during forensic interviews and in the courtroom by providing emotional support throughout the process.
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Photos by Erin Nelson.
A model of a courtroom allows the staff to give children and families a visual representation of what to expect during court proceedings.
Helping victims, parents
Owens House offers individual therapy for its clients, with both of its counselors trained in Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT). This evidence-based treatment for children impacted by trauma helps them cope with the process and aftermath. This, along with every service at Owens House, is provided free of charge to the client and their family.
Clients also come to Owens House by self-referral. Hill said that if someone knows that something happened, whether recent or not, they can reach out to Owens House and they will definitely point them in the right direction to get where they need to be.
In addition to Hill, two counselors and the forensic interviewer, Owens House has a family advocate on staff. She works with the family to let them know other services available and to provide community resources. She follows up with contacts, holds parent conferences and lets them know what to expect from the criminal side in case they have to go to court. She also Informs the clients about compensation assistance and helps filling out forms.
“As you can imagine, trauma such as child abuse can impact a family in a lot of other areas as well. Our family advocate helps us provide services for the family,” Hill said.
In order to assist the children through the process, Owens House has Fitz, a Labrador/Golden Retriever court dog. He comes in to provide comfort to children during their interview and also is there for them if they have to go to court.
“If he senses a child is experiencing an emotional interview, [he] will lay across their lap. He is a therapist,” Hill said. “Kids become more relaxed and engaged in the interview. Fitz is an important part of what we do here in helping us to get information from the kids.”
Community Education
Another area that Owens House serves is that of community education. This includes elementary body safety education, professional training and prevention classes, all with the common goal of ending child abuse. Two counselors visit Shelby County Schools and talk to elementary students about inappropriate touch, signs to look for, behaviors and how to disclose and prevent abuse. They also send home a letter to let parents know their children took part in this safety education program.
“They have an amazing puppet show with the kids. Our therapists are creative and interactive with kids and design the education programs according to their grade level,” Hill said.
Hill said the counselors often have a child disclose about abuse after the program, or later, at home, disclose to their parents that something has happened.
“It’s a very good education and awareness program, being able to make kids aware that these things are occurring and it’s not normal and a lot of kids don’t know that,” Hill said. “A lot of times the kids don’t know they’ve been groomed to say those touches are appropriate.”
Hill said Owens House counselors are available to speak to any group that deals with youth. They don’t just deal with the aftermath but the preventative as well.
“Lot of people want to address it, but don’t know where to start. They just have to reach out to us,” she said.
Ways to help
While Owens House is a nonprofit county service, it is allocated funding from the state and also local funding from Shelby County. It also accepts donations from corporations or individuals.
Volunteers aren’t allowed because of confidentiality, but Owens House gladly accepts donations of stuffed animals, snacks and other items along with gas gift cards to alleviate the financial burden of gas costs. Hill said that because it is the only child advocacy center in Shelby County, many people have to come a long distance. A needs list is available on the Owens House website.
Owens House will host a fundraiser April 9 from noon-4 p.m. at Siluria Brewing Company, located at 145 First Ave. W. in Alabaster. Guests can find out about the organization and ways to provide support.
“It’s a day to make the community aware of child abuse and let them know how they can prevent it and the services they can utilize,” Hill said.
For those who may be aware of child abuse but don’t want to be directly involved, a confidential report can be made to local law enforcement. For information about Owens House and their programs, visit owenshouse.org.
