Will County Children’s Advocacy Center – Protecting Children

Aug 8, 2024

Protecting Children

Will County Children’s Advocacy Center

Amount Awarded: $1,000,000 | Project Status: Completed April 2024

The Will County Children’s Advocacy Center (CAC) celebrated the opening of its new location at 1206 Cedarwood in Crest Hill with a ribbon cutting ceremony on April 8, 2024. The new facility was purchased and removed with $1 Million dollars in Will County American Rescue Plan (ARPA) allocations. The event was attended by State’s Attorney James Glasgow, County Executive Jennifer Bertino-Tarrant, members of the Will County Board, Crest Hill Mayor Ray Soliman, and members of the Crest Hill City Council, law enforcement, and members of the business and nonprofit community from throughout Will County. The 27,000-square-foot TLC Learning Center building was purchased by the County last year and the entire first-floor was refurbished to provide expanded and customized state-of-the-art space for the CAC.

The 27,000+, 1.5 story building, located at 1206 Cedarwood in Crest Hill, was a former daycare facility. It provides a child-focused setting designed to provide a safe, comfortable, and neutral space for the Will County CAC’s important work. The space includes a variety of assets that will support CAC operations and provide opportunities for expansion, including a fenced area for therapy dogs, a playground, and several private rooms for child forensic interviews and trauma therapy services. The building provides a quiet, welcoming environment, with adequate parking for employees and visitors.

The Will County Children’s Advocacy Center annually serves more than 700 children, ages 3-17, who have endured severe physical abuse, sexual abuse, commercial exploitation, neglect, and exposure to violence in Will County. It was founded by State’s Attorney James Glasgow in 1995. The child-focused center utilizes a multi-disciplinary team of police officers, prosecutors, advocates from children protection services and therapists who work together to ensure each child receives the help they need.

A forensic interview is conducted at the Will County Children’s Advocacy Center after there has been a report to law enforcement or DCFS of a child involving severe physical abuse, sexual abuse, sexual exploitation, child pornography, neglect, or exposure to violence. A forensic interview is a structured conversation with a child intended to elicit detailed information about a possible event(s) that the child may have experienced or witnessed. Forensic interviews provide children a safe place to share their story, in their own words, to experts who will listen, protect, and help them heal. The Will County CAC is the ONLY provider of child forensic interviews for ALL of the law enforcement jurisdictions in Will County, the Illinois Department of Children & Family Services; and upon request from the Illinois State Police and the FBI.

Additionally, Will County CAC family advocates and trauma therapists provide: family advocacy, evidence-based trauma-focused therapy, and Paws-4-Kids pet therapy services. The 15-member full-time staff are bilingual in English, Polish and Spanish, and the CAC has been fully accredited by the National Children’s Alliance since 2004.

“It’s been a long journey to get where we are today. When our doors first opened in 1995, we operated out of a donated office suite on the campus of Silver Cross Hospital with a financial contribution from St. Joseph’s Hospital and a matching grant from the Illinois Department of Children & Family Services. This new building made possible by ARPA funding allows us to expand and provide additional services and resources for victimized children and their non-offending family members.”

James Glasgow | State’s Attorney