The Cherish Center, located behind Riverview Hospital at 493 Westfield Rd., Suite C, Noblesville, has been named the recipient of a Victims of Crime Act grant from the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute for the second year. This grant will provide the organization with federal funds to support child forensic interview services. These funds also support the Hamilton County center as the coordinating agency and only provider for child interviews for law enforcement and The Indiana Department of Child Services.
The Cherish Center was awarded this grant based upon a criteria of providing “best practice services.” This distinction provides formal acknowledgment of the first class victim advocacy provided by The Cherish Center and its core alliance, which has now served more than 550 child abuse investigative interviews.
“Our forensic interviewing multidisciplinary team process is key to stopping abuse and keeping kids safe,” said Wendy Rayburn, executive director of The Cherish Center. “This approach, paired with the talent of our interviewers, law enforcement, prosecutor and DCS team is helping protect our children and stop abuse from happening again.”
The Cherish Center is a strong alliance of organizations working together to provide advocacy services for children who have been abused and neglected. The center provides a safe environment for children and their families to seek legal, health care and social services needed to address an incidence of abuse or neglect.
“Through a comprehensive forensic interviewing process The Cherish Center gives children, who have been harmed, a safe place to talk to our team of experts,” said Rayburn. “The organizations within this alliance then become the advocacy team for the victim and his/her family through the investigation and to keep the abuse from happening again. “
The Cherish Center and its partner organizations have aided in the increase of prosecution of child abuse and neglect cases in Hamilton County and surrounding counties. Rayburn said in 2012 alone, the number of forensic interviews more than doubled from the number of interviews in 2010.
For more information, visit www.thecherishcenter.org.