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Leadership Wilkes-Barre project aims to assist Child Advocacy Center

Times Leader - 3/6/2017

March 05--WILKES-BARRE -- Children who have been or are believed to have been abused physically, sexually or through negligence, have to tell their story as part of any investigation.

The experience can be difficult and trying for the victims.

To ease a child's time at the center, a Leadership Wilkes-Barre project committee -- Helping Hands of Courage -- is working to refurbish the waiting room of the Luzerne County Child Advocacy Center in order to create a warm and comforting environment for the children who utilize the facility.

"Many of these children are traumatized and frightened, so providing them with a comfortable, warm and fun space to play while they wait to be interviewed will undoubtedly help them feel a bit more at ease," said Tyler Ryan, of the committee.

The Luzerne County Child Advocacy Center is a non-profit organization located in Wilkes-Barre where the children are interviewed by a forensic interviewer.

While not a law enforcement agency, LCCAC staff work closely with police and prosecutors in investigations of suspected child abuse.

Here is an eye-opening statistic:

--When the LCCAC opened its doors in 2010, it served 155 abused children. In 2016, the LCCAC served 532 abused children.

Members of the Helping Hands of Courage are: Barb Andricks, Commonwealth Health; Robert Loveless, Prudential Retirement; Monica Marshalonis, Borton-Lawson; Sara Peperno, Association for the Blind; Tyler Ryan, City of Wilkes-Barre; Mike Sowinski, Rosenn, Jenkins & Greenwald; Jill Tarantini, Berkshire Hathaway GUARD Insurance Group; Linda Tessier, Mohegan Sun Pocono; and Eric Walker, Tobyhanna Army Depot.

About the center

Shannon Peduto is the executive director at the center, located at 187 Hanover St., Wilkes-Barre. The center is committed to the protection of all children who have become victims of physical abuse, sexual abuse and neglect, and it strives to create a child-friendly, safe environment to conduct joint interviews and investigations, along with providing a comfortable setting for medical examinations and a base of support staff.

The center is dedicated to the following:

--Reducing the number of interviews that a child must endure by creating a joint interview process.

--Reducing the trauma associated with the hospital setting for medical examinations.

--Increasing the number of offenders held accountable for committing crimes against children.

--Sharing information with investigative agencies and making referrals to support agencies.

--Providing quality, culturally sensitive services to the victims of abuse and their families, regardless of race, ethnicity, language or cultural differences.

Peduto said that because of the existence of the LCCAC, children no longer have to be interviewed multiple times. Each time they are interviewed, they relive the event and trauma associated with the abuse. They are re-victimized with each telling.

The LCCAC brings all parties to the child, Peduto said. One child-friendly, trained interviewer conducts an interview one time. A medical exam is completed to ensure the child's health and collect any possible evidence.

Advocacy services are provided to the abused child and the child's family to begin the healing process. The child only has to tell the story of abuse once and then can begin to heal from such horrific circumstances.

All of these services are provided to families at no cost to them. Never will a family have to worry about cost or payment to make their child and family whole again after a child has had the courage to report abuse.

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(c)2017 The Times Leader (Wilkes-Barre, Pa.)

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