Advocates for North Idaho kids

North Idaho Children’s Advocacy Center, operating under the umbrella of the non-profit organization, Safe Passage, has been serving families and victims of child abuse in the five northern counties since 2012.

All of the law enforcement agencies in the Northern Panhandle region partner with CAC, and utilize their services. These agencies include the Boundary County Sheriff’s Office, Bonners Ferry Police Department, Bonner County Sheriff’s Office, Sandpoint Police Department, Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office, Coeur d’Alene Police Department, and Kootenai Tribal Police Department.

Boundary County Sheriff’s Office Detective David MacClelland, said he is pleased with the program. He says the CAC has provided excellent results for his investigations.

“It makes my job of looking into these difficult cases so much easier. The CAC professionals are amazing at what they do. I can’t say enough about how appreciative I am of their program, as it is an excellent community service.”

The North Idaho Children’s Advocacy Center, located in Coeur d’Alene, assists law enforcement when faced with the difficult task of interviewing possible victims of child abuse. It provides a safe, child-friendly environment, and staff members that are specially trained to interview children in traumatic circumstances.

The CAC currently provides what was an unmet need in Boundary County and the entire the Panhandle region. Fifty percent of child abuse victims are from Kootenai County, and the other 50 percent are from the surrounding counties.

Katie Coker is the Executive Director for Safe Passage.

“Prior to the CAC, victims were interviewed at police stations, where suspects were interrogated,” Coker said. “Having to be interviewed multiple times by individuals working within the child abuse response system was confusing and intimidating for children.”

Long before CAC opened its doors, numerous local partners saw the need for a non-fragmented method of interviewing children, and came together to find better ways of supporting abused victims. Today, many of these partners form the CAC’s multi-disciplinary team, which includes city and county law enforcement, prosecutor’s office, medical partners, mental health providers, and victim services (Safe Passage).

The CAC provides a scripted forensic interview structure. The individual interviewing a child has no details of the ongoing investigation, which prevents any suggestive or leading questions. The script is the same for every child. The investigator is in a separate room, watching and listening to the interview, which is recorded and videotaped. The CAC interviewer immediately hands over the recorded documentation to the investigator and does not keep a copy.

Kootenai Health provided the location for the CAC, and the hospital helps operate the center under the management of Kootenai Behavioral Health.