Children's Advocacy

The Children’s Advocacy Center (CAC) is a program of the Sexual Assault Crisis and Support Center serving Kennebec and Somerset Counties. We use evidence-based best practices, which means that the way we interview children and help families is based on research, years of experience, and support from experts and other organizations like ours.
What to expect at the CAC
We provide a safe and neutral place that children and families feel comfortable in. We work hard to respond to child sexual abuse reports in a timely way. We try to intervene early to hopefully lessen the trauma for children and their families. ​
We bring "the systems" to families and help them work through the aftermath of sexual abuse. We do this through good working relationships and agreements from many different groups that must be part of responding to child sexual abuse. This includes local and statewide law enforcement, prosecution, Maine Department of Health & Human Services, mental & medical health providers, advocacy groups and other social service providers.  
We are proudly accredited by the National Children's Alliance and are a member of the Maine Network of Children's Advocacy Centers.

The CAC's Mission

The CAC's Purpose
The mission of the Children’s Advocacy Center of Kennebec & Somerset Counties is to provide a safe, neutral and child-centered place for coordinated evaluation of children following an allegation of sexual abuse.  Using evidence-based best-practices, the CAC multi-disciplinary team members are committed to the minimization of trauma through a streamlined, non-repetitious and timely evaluation process. Accessible, on-going support for children and their non-offending family members/legal guardian will always be of paramount importance to the CAC team.
The purpose of the Children’s Advocacy Center Program is to provide and promote closer coordination, communication and collaboration among child abuse response agencies in order to better serve children, their families, and the community in the aftermath of child sexual abuse.

Our Partners

Our partnerships are what keeps our CAC going and what helps us serve children and families the best way we can.

Below is the list of agencies we proudly call our partners.
Augusta Police Department
Clinton Police Department
Community Health and Counseling
Crisis & Counseling Centers
Department of Corrections
Department of Health & Human Services
Edmund N. Ervin Pediatric Center
Fairfield Police Department
Family Violence Project
Gardiner Police Department
Hallowell Police Department
Kennebec Behavioral Health
Kennebec County Sheriff’s Department
Kennebec/Somerset Sexual Assault Forensic Collaborative
Kennebec Valley Community Action Program
Madison Police Department
Maine Child Development Services of Southern
​   Kennebec
Maine Children’s Alliance
Maine Network of Children's Advocacy Centers
Maine State Police
MaineGeneral Medical Center
Monmouth Police Department
Oakland Police Department
Office of the District Attorney of Kennebec & Somerset
​   Counties
Sexual Assault Forensic Examiner Program DHHS, OCFS
Pine Tree Legal Services
Pittsfield Police Department
Skowhegan Police Department
Somerset County Sheriff’s Department
Spurwink Services
Waterville Police Department
Winslow Police Department
​Winthrop Police Department