Did you notice our newsletter has a new name? Welcome to The Advocate – a monthly publication from Voices of Courage Child Advocacy Center.
“There can be no keener revelation of a society’s soul than the way in which is treats its children'”
Nelson Mandela
WHAT'S HAPPENING?
KEEPING KIDS SAFE IN ATHLETICS
It’s back to school time and we want to focus on the excitement and benefits of athletics for the children in your life. Many are headed to the field, court, gym, track or practice room.
Athletics can be an important part of a child’s life. Sprots can build confidence, encourage teamwork, teach resilience, and create meaningful relationships with coaches and teammates.
But, just as we think about physical safety in athletics, it is also important to think about a child’s overall safety and well-being.
Creating safe athletic environments is a shared responsibility.
SAFE ADULTS MATTER
Children involved in athletics often spend significant time with coaches, trainers, volunteers, and other adults outside of their immediate family. Those relationships can be incredibly positive and meaningful. They also mean that organizations and families should make sure appropriate safeguards are in place.
Parents can ask questions like:
- Are coaches and volunteers screened before working with children?
- Does the organization have clear policies about adult and child interactions?
- Are adults prohibited from being alone with a child when it is unnecessary?
- Are parents aware of how concerns about safety or inappropriate behavior can be reported?
- Does the organization provide training on recognizing and responding to concerns about child abuse?
Strong policies help protect children – and they also help protect coaches and volunteers by establishing clear expectations and boundaries.
TEACH CHILDREN ABOUT BOUNDARIES
Sports often involve situations that require physical contact, instruction, or assistance. Children should understand that they have the right to feel safe and that adults should respect appropriate boundaries.
Talk with your child about the difference between appropriate coaching or medical care and behavior that makes them feel uncomfortable, confused, or unsafe.
Encourage children to trust their feelings and remind them that they can talk to you or another safe adult if something does not feel right – even if the person involved is someone they know, admire, or respect.
PAY ATTENTION TO CHANGES
Children may not always directly say when something is wrong. Parents and caregivers can pay attention to changes in behavior, emotions, or a child’s willingness to attend practices or spend time with certain individuals.
A change does NOT necessarily mean that abuse or misconduct has occurred. It can be an opportunity to check in and ask open-ended questions.
Try asking:
- How are things going with your team?
- What do you like most about practice?
- Is there anything about sports or practice that makes you uncomfortable?
These conversations can help children know they have permission to talk about difficult things.
SAFETY IS PART OF A STRONG TEAM CULTURE
A successful athletic program should not only focus on winning games or developing athletic ability. It should also create an environment where children are treated with respect, boundaries are clear, and concerns can be raised without fear of embarrassment or retaliation.
When organizations prioritize safety, everyone benefits.
As the new school year and athletic seasons begin, we encourage families to celebrate the many benefits of youth sports – while remembering that safety should always be part of the game plan.
Every child deserves the opportunity to learn, compete and grow – and to feel safe!
IN THE KNOW
WHY ARE FORENSIC INTERVIEWS RECORDED?
We’ve been answering some FAQ’s about what happens here at Voices of Courage. When a child comes to our agency for a forensic interview, one question some families have is: Why is the interview recorded?
The answer is simple: recording the interview helps protect the child, preserve their words, and support a fair and thorough response.
A forensic interview is actually just a structured conversation conducted by a specially trained professional when there are concerns that a child may have experienced abuse or witnessed violence. Unlike a typical conversation, the goal is to give the child an opportunity to share information in their own words while reducing the need for them to repeat their experiences over and over again.
Recording Helps Reduce Re-Traumatization
Imagine have to tell a painful or frightening experience to multiple people – a police officer, a social worker, an attorney, and others. For children, repeatedly describing traumatic experiences can be stressful and overwhelming.
By recording the interview, members of the multidisciplinary team can hear the child’s account without requiring the child to repeatedly tell their story to each professional involved in the investigation – or even to those who are not.
One carefully conducted interview can help reduce the number of times a child has to revisit what happened.
Recording Preserves the Child’s Exact Words
A recording captures much more than notes ever could. It preserves the child’s actual words, the questions asked by the interviewer, and the complete context of the conversation.
This is important because the details of an interview should not depend solely on someone’s memory or interpretation. The recording allows appropriate professionals to review exactly what weas said and how the interview was conducted.
Recording Supports a Fair Investigation
Forensic interviews are designed to be neutral and fact-finding. The interviewer is not there to decide whether something happened. They don’t determine who is telling the truth and they don’t advocate for one side.
Recording the interview allows appropriate members of the multidisciplinary team to evaluate the information directly. It also provides transparency regarding the interview process and helps ensure that decision s are based on the child’s own statements rather than secondhand accounts.
Recording Helps Protect the Child – and the Process
A recorded interview can become an important part of an investigation and, when necessary, the legal process. It creates an accurate record that can be reviewed by the professionals responsible for responding to concerns about the child’s safety.
Most importantly, recording helps honor one of the central goals of the child advocacy center model: to put the child’s needs at the center of the response.
A child should not have to repeatedly tell the most difficult parts of their story simply because adults need information. By carefully documenting one professionally conducted forensic interview, the team can work together while helping minimize the burden placed on the child.
When a child finds the courage to speak, we believe their words deserve to be heard – and carefully preserved.
FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Why We Support Buchanan County Kids
At Voices of Courage, we see what can happen when a child and family have access to the support they need – and what can happen when those resources are not available.
Children in our community face challenges most of us wish they didn’t have to. Abuse, neglect, family violence, mental health concerns, substance use in the home and other hardships can have lasting effects on a child’s safety, well-being and future.
Fortunately, Buchanan County is home to many organizations and professionals working to support children and families. But too often, those services depend on funding sources that are temporary, restricted, competitive, or uncertain.
Grants end. State and federal funding changes. Community needs continue to grow.
That is why we are supporting the effort to bring a Children’s Services Fund to Buchanan County through the Buchanan County Kids initiative (you may hear it referred to as Proposition K).
A Children’s Services Fund would create a dedicated, local source of funding focused specifically on the needs of children in our community (ages 0-19). It would allow Buchanan County to invest in programs and services that help children become safer, healthier, and better supported – while keeping decisions about those investments close to home.
For our organization, supporting Buchanan County Kids is not simply about funding. It is about what becomes possible when a community makes a long-term commitment to its children.
It can mean greater access to mental health services for children who have experienced trauma. It can help strengthen prevention efforts before families reach a point of crisis. It can support services for children and families navigating abuse, violence, and other significant challenges. It can help organizations build capacity to respond to needs that already exist – and needs we know will continue to grow.
Most importantly, it recognized something we believe deeply:
The well-being of our children is a community responsibility.
No single organization can meet every need. No school, nonprofit, law enforcement agency, healthcare provider, or government entity can do this work alone. Creating safer, healthier futures for children requires a community-wide commitment and a willingness to invest in the systems of care that children and families rely upon.
That is what makes Buchanan County Kids so important.
This initiative is an opportunity for us to think beyond today’s challenges and ask an important question: What kind of community do we want Buchanan County to be for children?
- Do we want children to have access to help when they need it, regardless of their family’s ability to pay?
- Do we want to address challenges early, before they become larger crises?
- Do we want the organizations serving children to have the resources necessary to meet both existing and growing needs?
We believe the answer is yes!
Supporting Buchanan County Kids does not mean that one organization or one issue is more important than another. In fact, the strength of a Children’s Services Fund is its potential to support a broader network of services working together on behalf of children and families throughout our county.
At its heart, this is about community investment.
We believe Buchanan County’s children deserve more than hoping the next grant comes through. They deserve a community that plans for their future, invests in their well-being, and recognizes that supporting children today helps create a stronger community tomorrow.
That is why we support Buchanan County kids.
Every child deserves to grow up safe, supported, and surrounded by a community that believes their future is worth investing in.
With gratitude,
Melissa Birdsell
We are trying to create a stronger, safer community for all of us.
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
MYTH VS. FACT: Children always tell a trusted adult when something is wrong
We continue our series on Myth v. Fact around child abuse and responses to abuse. We want to dispel some myths related to child abuse because myths can be harmful. Facts keep children safe.
MYTH: Children always tell a trusted adult when something is wrong.
FACT: Children do NOT always have the words, understanding, or sense of safety needed to disclose abuse or other traumatic experiences.
It’s natural to believe that if something serious happens to a child, they will immediately run to a parent, teacher, or other trusted adult for help. Unfortunately, it is often much more complicated than that.
Children may not disclose what happened for many reasons. Maybe they are scared of what will happen if they tell. Maybe they are worried about getting themselves or someone else in trouble. They may feel confused, embarrassed, ashamed, or unsure whether what happened was even wrong!
Sadly, sometimes the person who caused the harm is someone the child knows, loves, or depends on. A child may fear losing that relationship or worry about what will happen to their family if they tell.
They may also have been threatened that if they tell, the person harming them will do something to them, their family, their pet, etc.
Even further, they may fear no one will believe them.
Disclosure doesn’t always happen all at once. A child may test whether an adult is safe by sharing a small piece of information. They may change the subject, take back what they said, or wait weeks, months or even longer before sharing more.
We have a lot of resources talking about what we, as adults, can do to encourage a child to trust us. They need safe adults in their lives.
Adults can:
- Create opportunities for conversation
- Listen without judgment
- Stay calm
- Take concerns seriously
- Remind children that they are not responsible for adult behavior.
When children know there is an adult who will listen and believe them, they are more likely to have somewhere to turn when they need support.
Every child deserves a safe adult. Every adult has the opportunity to help create that sense of safety.
You can help us create a safer, more compassionate community for every child!
COMMUNITY UPDATES
CORPORATE CHAMPIONS CAMPAIGN UPDATE
Our Corporate Champions Campaign is designed to partner with local businesses that share our commitment to protection children and strengthening families.
These partners are playing a vital role in ensuring children in our community can access services without cost, delay or barriers, regardless of the family’s circumstances.
This month we feature Al J. Mueller Construction Company. This is a company that is near and dear to our hearts here at Voices of Courage. They helped to create the beautiful building we are currently housed in.
Al J. Mueller is a design-build general contractor that builds with intention from complex commercial projects to straight forward warehousing solutions. They’ve been around since 1974, providing services throughout Northwest Missouri and Eastern Kansas.
Thank you Al J. Mueller! We can whole heartedly recommend you contact them for your next big build or remodel.
If you would like to join this growing group of companies in working together to protect children, just click here or contact Melissa to learn more.
COCO'S CORNER
Coco is celebrating one year at Voices of Courage! We hope you will join us in celebrating having her with us. How?
We know many of you are dog lovers and realize the value of the serve Coco provides. You can help support her here with a donation to her ongoing care.
Recently, one of our therapy clients asked if they could draw a picture of Coco on the white board. Of course the answer was yes and look at what a great job they did!
Coco remains a favorite of many of our clients whether she’s just resting on the tiny pink couch, laying on the floor with a client, or simply being in the room at the ready to offer comfort as needed.
Happy One Year Anniversary!
#itisyourbusiness Missouri Child Abuse & Neglect Hotline 800-392-3738