A child that I knew a long time ago.   She is not a child that had the benefit of receiving services through the CAC.  But she is why I believe in the CAC.  I met her when she was six.  I was 22 and a child protection investigator.  She was the most beautiful blond-haired blue-eyed child I had ever seen.  I wish that I could say that the day I met her was the day that her abuse stopped.  But that is not the case.  I wish that I could say that I was the first child protection worker that she met.  I was not.  When I interviewed her about her abuse, she was silent.  She could talk.  She had ten seconds earlier called me some very colorful names that I am sure she had heard some adult in her life use to describe my comrades, the previous workers who had paraded in and out of her house.  I visited her at her elementary school.  She had been interviewed at school before.  She had been interviewed in her home.  She had been interviewed at other schools by other workers.  The police had interviewed her on scene several times while responding to calls of domestic violence.  She never spoke.  Reports flowed in on a monthly sometimes weekly basis.  We did not have a multi-disciplinary team.  I did not have the support of law enforcement or a medical provider to help me figure out all the pieces of the puzzle.  Instead, I sat in my office reading and re-reading every report and document in her file looking for something—anything that would help me know what to do next.  It was a small community.  Soon the school counselor bypassed the reporting line and called me directly.  She stopped me in the grocery store on the weekends. This child, this beautiful little girl was described as feral in some reports.  She had behavioral issues.  She was aggressive.  She screamed.  She was dirty.  She smelled so bad that her classmates would not sit next to her.  She constantly had bathroom accidents—either because she could not control it or did not want to control it.  She “binged” in the cafeteria because she was starving.

It took six months to find enough “evidence” that she was at risk and that she and her siblings should be placed in DHS custody.  In time we came to learn that in addition to the years of physical abuse and neglect that she had been sexually abused by multiple family members.  In fact, to this day her case stands out as one of the most heinous abuse cases in my career.

The last time I saw this child she was 10 years old.  She was getting therapy.  She was in a special foster home.  She had had three psychiatric stays in one of the best treatment centers in the country.  She had blown through too many foster homes to count.   Her story is a long and sad one.  I carry it around in my heart and there are few days that I do not think about her.  Not one incident of abuse committed against her was prosecuted but more importantly even though she came to the attention of the “System” multiple times, the system caused harm when they did not respond in a timely, coordinated way.

I often wonder “what if”?   What if we had a CAC and a multi-disciplinary team?  Would this child have been returned to her abusive home at age three because a judge did not find sufficient evidence in a hearing to say she was in danger?  Would this child and their family have had the opportunity to move around between parishes as a way to avoid social services?  If we had coordinated services for this child, would we have had a clear social history, a thorough mental health assessment, a clear disclosure of abuse early on through a proper forensic interview and would those efforts secure her safety and help provide a path toward healing?

In 2022, we know better, and we do better.  I believe so strongly in the work done on behalf of the children who experience abuse in our community by the CAC and by the Jackson County Multidisciplinary Team.  I believe in it because I have done the work without the benefit of this model.

The coordination of care provided through the CAC model provides better outcomes for the system, for the child and for the families we work with.  It also provides a layer of protection for those doing the work.  You are not alone and not being alone is one big factor in guarding yourself against vicarious trauma.