(Seguin) — April is now just one day away, and the new month will bring with it a new opportunity to make more people aware of child abuse cases that occur each year in this community. April is Child Abuse Prevention and Awareness Month.
Christy Williams, the executive director of the Guadalupe County Children’s Advocacy Center, over the weekend served as our guest on the Saturday Topic program. Williams says the advocacy center is on the front lines of the fight to find justice and to offer support for these children.
“We are a non-profit agency. We work with children and families when there are allegations of child abuse and neglect. Anything that a child would have to talk to law enforcement or Child Protective Services about, they can refer those children to us to conduct forensic interviews, for us to provide family advocacy sessions or counseling, and really just case management and case review — to make sure that cases aren’t falling through the crack,” said Williams.
The center works in partnership with several other agencies to make sure that child victims of abuse and neglect get the services and support that they need.
“So our partners are law enforcement and Department of Family and Protective Services, our local prosecutor’s office, CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates, and medical professionals and mental health professionals — all here in Guadalupe County,” said Williams.
April is Child Abuse Prevention and Awareness Month. Williams says it’s important to have these discussions during this time period, but she says it’s also something that we should be talking about all year long.
“I think if we were able to do that and just recognize and report whenever we suspect abuse, that we can really make an impact on children’s lives in the future,” said Williams.
If you missed our entire Saturday Topic conversation with Christy Williams, you can listen to it online at seguintoday.com.