Who is the Santa Rosa Kids House and what will it do?

The Santa Rosa Kids House Inc, is a non-profit corporation, governed by a board of directors comprised of Santa Rosa County citizens. Citizens who are true child advocates and share the desire to address the issue of child abuse in our county. This board has undertaken the task of building and maintaining a facility in our county that will house agencies that investigate, prosecute and deal with emotional and psychological aftermath of this horrendous crime.

The agencies that will be housed in the facility are already in place, they have worked in concert for years without the facility. So why build the facility, which we refer to as the House ? It has been proven nationally that placing these agencies in the same building improves communication between the agencies, this leads to improved investigations and prosecutions. This is a good point, but lets get to the number one reason. The House will be a child friendly environment, staffed by the Child Protection Team, special nurses that understand the physical and psychological signs of child abuse. These nurses receive specialized training to conduct forensic interviews of children. These interviews will be conducted in a state of the art interview room, monitored by law enforcement detectives, Protective Investigators from the Department of Children and Families and an attorney from the States Attorney's Office. These team members office will be just steps down the hall in the House. This means the child will get one physical exam and one interview while talking to one person. Without the House this child might have to talk to as many as a dozen people, even for an adult this would lead to confusion not to mention added stress and shame. The bottom line, WE ARE REDUCING THE TRAUMA TO THE CHILD!!

Down the hall and around the corner of the House the mental health professionals will be able to talk with the child and their non offending family members (legal speak for the good guys). Alleged perpetrators (bad guys) are not allowed in the House! There are areas in the House for Play Therapy and Group Therapy.

Just around the corner you will find the Guardian ad Litem Program. These incredible people are court appointed to represent children who do not have anyone the court feels is qualified to speak for them as they work their little way through our big system. These men and women are the heart and consciences of our system, insuring these children do not fall through any crack..

Our House is home to the Multidisciplinary Team. The team is comprised of the agencies already mentioned, in addition we have members from the Florida Attorney Generals Office, the Santa Rosa County School Board, NAS Whiting Field and the Favor House.

This unique blend of child advocates will  use the conventional Child Advocacy Center model as it handles the aftermath of this epidemic assault on our children. They will also spearhead an exciting new prevention program, hoping to educate our children and the adults in our county so that we can turn the tide and reduce child abuse in our community.