MONROE - The Green County district attorney's office will receive a $15,500 grant to help pay for the child advocacy center's coordinator position, the Wisconsin Department of Justice announced Friday.
Green County also received the grant in 2008, to help fund the coordinator position, which was created after the facility opened in 2006.
The center, located at Monroe Clinic, enables investigators to interview abused children in a private area that makes the child feel comfortable and safe, advocacy center coordinator Claire MacLennan said.
The program encourages county childcare professionals to work together to streamline the investigative process so children who are victims of a crime are not further traumatized.
Monroe Clinic donated space, a local foundation provided funding and other Green County agencies have donated items to the center.
Before the child advocacy center opened, child abuse and neglect victims were taken to neighboring counties for forensic interviews. The center has improved coordination of child maltreatment cases in Green County, according to the Department of Justice statement.
In 2008, Green County Human Services investigated 293 cases of abuse, including physical, emotional and sexual abuse complaints. That number was slightly higher than in 2007, Green County Human Services Director Greg Holcomb said.
There are four types of child abuse defined by Wisconsin law, including physical, neglect, sexual and emotional. Physical abuse is any action which is not an accident that injures a child, whether or not a person intended to hurt the child.
Neglect is a guardian's failure to provide basic needs, which include medical and dental care, supervision, food, clothing and shelter.
Sexual abuse is any form of sexual contact with a child, causing a child to engage in sexual behavior or exposing a child to sexual activity or material, while emotional abuse includes hurting a child's emotional or intellectual well-being which can result in severe anxiety, depression or aggressive behavior.
Green County also received the grant in 2008, to help fund the coordinator position, which was created after the facility opened in 2006.
The center, located at Monroe Clinic, enables investigators to interview abused children in a private area that makes the child feel comfortable and safe, advocacy center coordinator Claire MacLennan said.
The program encourages county childcare professionals to work together to streamline the investigative process so children who are victims of a crime are not further traumatized.
Monroe Clinic donated space, a local foundation provided funding and other Green County agencies have donated items to the center.
Before the child advocacy center opened, child abuse and neglect victims were taken to neighboring counties for forensic interviews. The center has improved coordination of child maltreatment cases in Green County, according to the Department of Justice statement.
In 2008, Green County Human Services investigated 293 cases of abuse, including physical, emotional and sexual abuse complaints. That number was slightly higher than in 2007, Green County Human Services Director Greg Holcomb said.
There are four types of child abuse defined by Wisconsin law, including physical, neglect, sexual and emotional. Physical abuse is any action which is not an accident that injures a child, whether or not a person intended to hurt the child.
Neglect is a guardian's failure to provide basic needs, which include medical and dental care, supervision, food, clothing and shelter.
Sexual abuse is any form of sexual contact with a child, causing a child to engage in sexual behavior or exposing a child to sexual activity or material, while emotional abuse includes hurting a child's emotional or intellectual well-being which can result in severe anxiety, depression or aggressive behavior.