Maine Network of Children's Advocacy Centers
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EFFECTIVE  & COMPASSIONATE

the cac model

What is a CAC?

A Children's Advocacy Center (CAC) is a child-focused, facility-based program where people from law enforcement, child protection, prosecution, mental health, medical and victim advocacy, and child advocacy work together. They interview children who have disclosed sexual abuse. They also make team decisions about investigation, treatment, management, and prosecution of child sexual abuse cases.

The primary goal of CACs is to ensure that children disclosing abuse are not further victimized by the intervention systems designed to protect them. Other goals of CACs include:
   Reducing trauma to children,
   Improving the flow of information,
   Holding offenders accountable, and 
   Reducing burnout of people who work to respond to child sexual abuse.

Getting a child to a CAC

Law enforcement, Child Protective Services, and the District Attorney’s Office are the only ones who can make referrals to the CAC. Parents, caregivers, or other professionals cannot make referrals to the CAC. Instead, they should make a mandated report to the Department of Health and Human Services Child Abuse Hotline or their local law enforcement.

What happens at the CAC?

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The whole process usually works like this:

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The Network is a program of the Maine Coalition Against Sexual Assault.
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Proudly accredited by the National Children's Alliance
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Funded in part by the Maine Department of Health & Human Services, and by your generous public and private donations.
Maine Network of Children's Advocacy Centers

If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted or abused, you can get help by calling the free, private 24-hour statewide sexual assault helpline at 1-800-871-7741. For more information, click here. 

For information on how to report child abuse click here or call 1-800-452-1999 or Maine Relay (711) for Deaf or Hard of Hearing.

In accordance with federal regulations, the Maine Network of Children's Advocacy Centers does not discriminate in the access to or provision of its services.
  • Home
  • the network
    • Mission & Contact Us
    • prevention work
  • get help
    • how to respond
    • maine resources
  • Maine's Efforts
    • Maine's CACs
    • how it works
    • cacs work
    • Your Questions