What We Do

The CAC Program provides clinical services for children who have been abused. Services include forensic interviews, individual therapy & intensive therapy groups for abused children and their non-offending family members (child sessions are provided at either the school or our CAC), mental health screenings, psychological evaluations, parent-training, victim support/ advocacy for abused children, crisis intervention, and case management. We provide not only direct services through our CAC Program, but we also coordinate and support a multidisciplinary team of professionals through this program that includes prosecutors, law enforcement officers, child protection workers, medical professionals, mental health professionals, and victim advocates. In the neutral setting of the MCCAC, team members can collaborate on strategies for investigations and plan interventions that put the child first. This innovative, multidisciplinary approach is cost effective, improves public safety, and leads to long-term healing for the child.

Our CE Program provides community education on child abuse, child abuse prevention techniques, and resources available in our community. The MCCAC also provides training for West Virginia University students on how to evaluate, treat, and support child abuse victims and their families through our internship program.

Our PC Program works with at-risk children Monongalia County Schools have identified who have experienced loss, significant anxiety and depressive symptoms, domestic violence in the home, or other traumatic experiences not covered by other programs. Children in this program receive therapy and family advocacy.

Our DEC Program is a family treatment program for families impacted by parental drug and alcohol abuse. Because parental drug use impacts the entire family system (e.g., parents, children, family members caring for children in DHHR custody), this project provides support for all family members, including children ages 2 and older and foster parents.

The goal is to keep families together. The first step in the project is to provide a comprehensive psychological evaluation to identify treatment needs in five areas:

1. Substance use
2. Parent mental health
3. Child mental health
4. Parenting skills
5. Parent-child relationship

This information can be incorporated into the case plan with DHHR and used by the MDT so that each plan is individualized based on the families strengths and weaknesses. Both adults and children receive treatment through this program. In addition to traditional mental health and substance use treatment, the DEC Project also incorporates family advocacy, therapeutic parenting, and parent-child relationship enhancement. Services can be provided by MCCAC or other professionals in the community. The MCCAC coordinates care provided both at and outside of MCCAC. The MCCAC is able to provide the MDT with objective data about how a parent is progressing during his/ her improvement period.

OIn 2021, we served 620 children and family members impacted by child abuse and/ or trauma at our Center.

These services included:

• • 143 forensic interviews
  • 7,317 family advocacy services
  • 1,598 intensive therapy sessions

We use assessments to guide treatment decisions and assess progress for our mental health services. Our services have been shown to decrease emotional and behavioral symptoms in children, increase adaptive skills in children, and decrease parental stress.