EVERETT – Child advocacy center Dawson Place has done a lot of what it was supposed to accomplish after it opened in June.
Children who may have been abused are provided with quick and relatively easy service at a single, safe location.
The facility helps police and prosecutors decide whether charges should be filed and how strong a criminal case they have. Child interview specialists, state Child Protective Services workers and experts on children’s physical and mental health are located in one office in downtown Everett to make the process as easy as possible on young victims.
The piece that hasn’t yet fallen in place, however, is a search for money to fund administration of the center – the glue that holds five separate sets of experts together.
The child advocacy center is facing 2007 not knowing whether there will be money for a full-time administrator and receptionist. Grant applications have been filed, said Snohomish County Prosecuting Attorney Janice Ellis, head of the steering committee governing Dawson Place under the auspices of the YWCA. The facility operates as a nonprofit organization.
“Thus far we don’t have a lot to show for our efforts, but we need more,” Ellis said. “Dawson Place has achieved a lot this year. We have a high degree of confidence we will be able to compete for grant money to stabilize the administration.”
The center coordinator, Jim Treverbaugh, operates on a lean budget. He’s paid about two-thirds for full-time work. Receptionists are volunteers.
The steering committee wants to pay him full-time for his services and hire a receptionist. In addition, the plan is to gather enough money to hire someone who would concentrate on raising money for a permanent home for Dawson Place, Ellis said.
A floor of a downtown building was remodeled to accommodate the center. It has interview rooms where discussions can be recorded, and overall, it has a child-friendly feel to it.
But the steering committee has only a three-year commitment for the space and intends to pursue a fundraising campaign to build or remodel a permanent site.
That’s another reason it’s important to Ellis and others that the fundraising start soon, Ellis said.
“Without the permanent home, the wheels fall off the bus,” Ellis said.
In the interim, Treverbaugh said, a coordinator is necessary to keep the various disciplines going in the right direction to provide the best service to children who come to the center. For example, police officers may have to anticipate whether a child will need counseling – and then walk across the hall to set that up.
All the experts at Dawson Place need to have a broader outlook, which takes a change in thinking, Treverbaugh said.
“And I’m seeing that kind of evolution, but someone needs to keep the pressure on,” he said. “We’re headed in absolutely the right direction, so the kids that are coming here are getting better care.”
The center is named after Seth Dawson, a former prosecuting attorney who placed emphasis on child-abuse cases.
There’s no shortage of work.
In the center’s first four months of operation, 260 medical evaluations were performed and more than 650 group and individual therapy sessions were held, Ellis said. The Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office and Everett police initiated nearly 400 criminal investigations.
Snohomish County deputy prosecutor Craig Matheson said Lynnwood police and other agencies have begun using Dawson Place’s services.
Ellis said the facility has already proved its worth by lowering barriers for victims and those who serve them. She has no intention of letting a lack of money interfere.
“I just have confidence these grants are going to start coming in,” Ellis said. “We’ll need a lot of them. It’s all very exciting and I think very doable, but a little terrifying.”
Reporter Jim Haley: 425-339-3447 or haley@heraldnet.com.
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