cac model
Harmony Home Children’s Advocacy Center provides free and confidential services to every child victimized by abuse or neglect, their siblings, and non-offending caregivers until the child turns 18.
A Children’s Advocacy Center is designed to help children and their families deal with traumatic situations, such as abuse, neglect, and victimization, all under one roof. This process was designed to lessen the trauma the child and family experience, so healing can begin.
Our Services
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This team is compromised of representatives from Harmony Home CAC, the District and County Attorneys’ offices, all law enforcement departments, child protective services, and the medical community. These professionals collaborate to coordinate investigations, pursue prosecutions and provide delivery of services for victims. This team approach helps to ensure a greater likelihood of justice and healing for victims.
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Forensic Interviewers are specially trained to talk to children in a developmentally appropriate way who have been sexually or physically abused or neglected, or have witnessed a violent crime. Interviewers use a narrative, non-leading approach in a neutral environment where children feel at ease telling their story of abuse. The process is recorded and accessible to investigating officials so that the child doesn't have to repeat their story.
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Our Family Advocates act as the primary support and liaison for children and their non-offending caregivers. Advocates help families obtain therapy from Harmony Home and other community agencies, as well as provide medical and court accompaniment. They work with the family to help them understand social services, law enforcement, and judicial systems, and how these systems affect them.
By working closely with a network of community partners, our Family Advocates aim to provide comprehensive support like local food programs, employment assistance, financial resources, and counseling for mental health or substance abuse concerns that addresses the unique needs of each family, ensuring they have the tools and resources to heal and thrive.
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Harmony Home offers therapy services to all victims and their non-offending family members. Therapists are trained in Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy to better serve the children and adults seen at Harmony Home.
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Our prevention specialists provide education through a variety of trainings for the community. We offer Darkness to Light; an evidence-based training, teaching adults how to prevent, recognize, and react responsibly to child sexual abuse. We also offer Child Safety Matters, an age-appropriate training for children in grades Pre K - 12th. In addition, our Prevention Specialists offer customized training regarding a variety of child abuse topics as well as participate in numerous community events educating our community on child abuse prevention.
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Our Neglect Case Coordination Program was created in response to the growing number of neglect cases in Ector County being reported to the Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS). This specialized child protection team, comprised of social agencies, focuses on reviewing and providing long-term case management for these families. Our Family Advocates ensure that the families referred by DFPS have access to all the support services that they need to begin thriving.
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The Central Access Point is a collection of family resources compiled into a user-friendly site, to assist those in need of finding exactly what resources they seek in Ector County. Email families@hhcac.org, call (888) 228-4080, or visit our user-friendly resource guide available in either English or Spanish.