The Children’s Advocacy Center Supports Kansas City’s kids
Help, Hope, and Healing All Under One Roof
Synergy Services’ Children’s Advocacy Center (CAC) creates one home for all of the services needed by a child who has experienced or witnessed abuse. This eliminates the need for a child to have to share their story multiple times to doctors, police officers, lawyers, therapists, investigators, judges, and others.
The Synergy Services CAC is located at:
6080 North Oak Trafficway
Gladstone, MO 64118
Every day at a CAC...
Children and adolescents connect with trained forensic interviewers to navigate healing.
We connect children and adolescents with mental health providers and, if recommended, refer them to the appropriate physicians.
The CAC provides children, adolescents, and their caregivers access to community resources, services, and support to help the child and family heal.
Forensic interviewers, mental health professionals, law enforcement officers, medical providers, prosecutors, victim advocates, and other multi-disciplinary team members collaborate to advocate for each case while working hand in hand.
Benefits of the Children's Advocacy Center Model
The CAC Team is comprised of dedicated and compassionate staff who provide wraparound services to a family. The unique structure and model of the CAC is designed to ensure children are supported by everyone, together. For additional information about the CAC model or to ask any questions, please reach out to our team.
Discover Our Children's Advocacy Center Values
At Synergy Services’ CAC we have found that the combination of Believing, Supporting, and Protecting is the most effective way to help a child navigate a traumatic event.
Believing...
Believing your child and reassuring them that the abuse was not their fault are critical to the healing process. It can be difficult to accept that someone you know, love, or trust may have harmed your child. However, perpetrators of child abuse often manipulate trusted adults, which can make the abuse harder to recognize or believe.
Supporting...
Supporting your child during the investigative phases and the healing process will build trust and resilience in your child and the family system. Furthermore, children whose caregivers are supportive heal more quickly from abuse, so even if you have doubts about the abuse details themselves, it is important to communicate to your child that you support them.
Protecting...
Protecting your child is the most important step a caregiver can take to help their child heal from trauma. Restricting contact with the alleged abuser, either completely or as much as a court or custody order, will build trust and ensure the ongoing safety of your child. The CAC Victim Advocate can help your family strategize ways to protect your child from future abuse.
CAC FAQs
A forensic interview is a neutral, child-centered conversation conducted by trained professionals to gather accurate information about possible child abuse or neglect a child may have experienced or witnessed. During the forensic interview, our specially trained interviewers use non-leading, developmentally appropriate questions to help children safely share their experiences. The interview is video and audio recorded so the information can support a coordinated child abuse investigation by a multidisciplinary team. This trauma-informed approach reduces the need for repeated interviews and helps prevent additional trauma for the child.
The purpose of the medical examination at the CAC is to support the health, safety, and well-being of children. Our pediatric medical providers have specialized training and experience in the evaluation of child abuse and neglect, allowing them to accurately identify medical findings related to abuse while distinguishing them from conditions caused by illness or accident. During the exam, providers also assess children for unmet medical needs as well as emotional or behavioral concerns that may benefit from further evaluation or treatment.
Through partnership with Children’s Mercy, our team is able to connect youth and adolescents to the following community resources, as needed.
- SAFE (Sexual Abuse Forensic Exams)
- Photo/Video Documentation
- Forensic Evidence Collection
- STI & Pregnancy Tests
- Acute & Non-Acute Exams
- CARE (Child At Risk Exams)
- Photo documentation of skin findings
- Radiographic assessment if needed
- Skeletal Survey
- CT Scan/MRI
- Lab Assessments
- Hospital Consultations
Avoid making promises prior to the interview, as many things are uncertain, especially in the beginning. Try not to make promises to your child about what will happen with the offender, with the investigation or that they will never have to talk about what happened again. It is better to tell your child that you don’t know rather than answer a question incorrectly. Additionally, we strongly recommend not promising rewards if they talk with the interviewer, so they do not feel bribed or forced into talking. Overall, our goal is to provide a space where kids feel safe to share their experiences.
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