April is Child Abuse Prevention Month!

April is Child Abuse Prevention Month!

The Blue Pinwheel represents the happy, healthy childhood that every child deserves and is the symbol of Child Abuse Prevention.

Every child deserves a life free from abuse.

  • Our mission is to seek to prevent child abuse and to serve children who are victims of abuse through education and intervention. We do this by providing prompt, sensitive, and concrete services so that every child and family can focus on healing.

  • A community where children are free from abuse and neglect and families are strong.

  • Below are our core values which reflect what is important to us as an organization. These stand the test of time, from situation-to-situation, person-to-person, and represent the underpinning our organizational culture.

    Compassion

    ·      We care about each child who has been or could be a victim of child abuse.

    ·      We will never turn a child away due to an inability to pay for services.

    ·      We are focused on creating a safe and caring environment for children and their families.

    ·      We want our staff and community partners to feel supported and empowered.

    ·      We are dedicated to treating children and families, our employees, volunteers, partners, and donors with kindness, respect, and dignity.

     Community

    ·      We seek to provide a secure and protected environment for those we serve and honor the privacy and confidentiality of children and their families.

    ·      We consistently use best practices to expand our capabilities and improve the services we provide.

    ·      We consider it our obligation to raise awareness and educate adults on how to protect children from abuse.

    ·      We believe in holding those who harm children accountable.

    ·      We relentlessly ask ourselves whether our decisions, behaviors, and recommendations possess integrity and are in the best interest of our clients.

    ·      We strive to provide trauma-informed care to those we serve.

    ·      We respect and care for one another.

     Collaboration

    ·       Our greatest asset is our employees, we invest in their well-being, self care, and professional growth.

    ·       We believe that children can best be protected and treated through collaboration and partnerships with our communities.

    ·       Because we believe best practice occurs through collaboration, we invest in providing professional growth opportunities for our community partners.

    ·       Through teamwork and open communication, we empower families, our employees, and our community partners to have the strength to do what is best for each child.

    ·       We advocate for children, by understanding best practices, sharing what we learn, and reaching out to others to lean more.

    ·       We co-create and learn together, knowing that mistakes are opportunities and victories are a culmination of all of our work.

    ·       We value contributions of the individual and the work we conduct collectively as a team.

     Trauma Informed Culture

    ·      The LCAC believes that creating a trauma informed environment is critical in meeting the needs of our children and community.

    ·      We provide education to all employees regarding trauma informed care, work to create a professional quality of life for employees, volunteers, and interns.

    We conduct a yearly trauma informed organizational assessment to evaluate organizational cultures, practices and policies.

A message from our Director:

We are all advocates.

Each year, more than 300 reports of abuse or neglect are made here in Limestone County. For more than 10 years, we have provided critical services for children victimized by abuse or neglect in our community, free of charge. We are the only agency in Limestone County offering all these services under one roof and we do so because our community’s children deserve the best childhood possible.

Providing safety, healing and justice at the Limestone Child Advocacy Center is a team effort. We use a multi-disciplinary team approach; we unite law enforcement, Child Protective Services, therapists, family advocates, interns, and volunteers. Additionally, we work hand-in-hand with the District Attorney’s office to ensure justice is served.

Our primary goal is to provide comprehensive, accessible, free services for 100 percent of children and families in Limestone County impacted by or at risk of child abuse or neglect.

We provide an environment that supports multi-disciplinary team success. We promote hope, self-reliance and strength for our clients.

We seek to serve as a catalyst and coordinator to engage the community in the fight against child abuse.

Becky Bentley
Executive Director