We exist to help our community become a better, safer place for each child of Harris County.
There are nearly 1,000 child advocacy centers nationwide, including approximately 70 in Texas, that are dedicated to helping children and families who have been affected by child sexual abuse. The Children’s Assessment Center (The CAC) was established in 1991 in Houston, Texas. The CAC is the only children’s advocacy center serving Harris County and one of the largest in the nation.
Sadly, there was no streamlined process for children before the implementation of children’s advocacy centers. Children were often interviewed multiple times by various law enforcement agencies, medical professionals, and mental health professionals. Here at The CAC, we know that having to recount abuse several times can be retraumatizing, and we sought to find a solution to make this process as trauma-informed as possible.
The CAC aims to provide all of the services children and families need in one place. Within our building, we provide forensic interviewing, family advocacy, mental health services, medical exams, and children’s court services at no cost to our clients. Our hope is that our process will provide children and families with the tools necessary to help them on their journey to heal from abuse.
We provide space in our building for dozens of other agencies we collaborate with to coordinate abuse investigations and care for the children and families we serve. We provide community prevention training to children, families, schools, medical professionals, and other organizations that strive to protect children from abuse.
Simply put, our organization exists to protect children, heal families, and prevent abuse.
