North Central Missouri Children's Advocacy Center

Child Sexual Abuse Prevention for Adults

Stewards of Children® training is for every adult who cares about the safety of children.  Child sexual abuse happens in our homes, neighborhoods, churches, schools, youth sports and online.  It can happen to a child you care about – even your own child.  The Stewards of Children program seeks to raise awareness of the prevalence and consequences of child sexual abuse by educating adults about the steps they can take to prevent, recognize and react responsibly to the reality of child sexual abuse. 

In this training, you will:

*Receive a mix of survivor stories, expert advice and practical guidance for preventing child sexual abuse.

*Learn about making choices, taking risks and supporting each other.

*Get simple strategies to prevent and respond to sexual abuse through Darkness to Light’s 5 Steps to Protecting Our Children.

This program is offered both in person or via Zoom on request to community clubs, groups or organizations within our service area. Learn more about the program here at: http://www.d2l.org 

Schedule your training today by contacting Amanda White at 660-359-2874 or by email at [email protected]

Child Abuse Awareness & Prevention for Children

Play it Safe! teaches children how to reduce their risk of being sexually abused.

Play it Safe!® is an evidence-informed, age-appropriate, risk reduction program for Pre-K through high school age students. Since 1983, more than 1.5 million children have learned about personal safety from the Play it Safe! program. Each grade level’s interactive curriculum speaks to children in a way that they can best learn and respond.

*If you would like more information about Play It Safe, or are interested in bringing the program to your school or community, please contact: 

Amanda White

Prevention Education Specialist

North Central Missouri Children’s Advocacy Center

660-359-2874| [email protected]

The North Central Missouri Children's Advocacy Center has added The Monique Burr Foundation Child Safety Matters curriculum to their prevention programs. 

The MBF Child Safety Matters® - Pre-K program was developed to introduce personal safety concepts to
preschool children, ages 4 - 5. The lessons, provided by the Monique Burr Foundation for Children (MBF),
were created and reviewed by child psychologists and early childhood educators and meet many Pre-K
instructional standards. They are age- and developmentally appropriate, based on research, and include
fun and engaging activities for children, as well as additional optional activities that can be used for
reinforcement of the lesson content. 

MBF Child Safety Matters® is a comprehensive, evidence-based prevention education program
for elementary school students in grades K-5. The program teaches students and adults how
to prevent, recognize, and respond appropriately to the four types of child abuse (physical,
emotional, sexual, neglect), bullying, cyberbullying, and digital dangers.

MBF Teen Safety Matters® is a comprehensive, evidence-informed prevention education
program for middle school students in grades 6 - 8 and high school students in grades 9 - 12. The
program addresses emotional, physical, and digital safety, and teaches students and adults
how to prevent, recognize, and respond appropriately to the four types of child abuse (physical,
emotional, sexual, neglect), exploitation/trafficking, sexual assault, relationship abuse, bullying,
cyberbullying, and digital dangers.

MBF Mental Health Matters^™, provided by the Monique Burr Foundation for Children, are supplemental lessons for MBF Child Safety Matters^® and MBF Teen Safety Matters^® that address Mental and Emotional Health and Substance Use and Abuse.

These programs are FREE to schedule and also meets the legislative requirements of Erins Law

NOW SCHEDULING FOR THE 23-24 SCHOOL YEAR!

To schedule yours today, or for more information, email [email protected]

Child abuse awareness, education,  and prevention programs are a vital component to a healthy and safe community for our children. The North Central Missouri Children’s Advocacy Center (NCMCAC) recognizes that to protect children from abuse, prevention services must address individuals, families and the community.

Prevention programs offered by the NCMCAC have the ability to reach nearly 8,500 people in our service area. These programs offer a range of services to parents, children, schools and a variety of individuals and organizations throughout our communities. We all want to have a safe, healthy and happy community.

We CAN protect our children, take steps to help prevent abuse and build a strong and prosperous future for our community. It’s possible and it’s happening. The NCMCAC is working hard to be a voice for children and YOU can, too.

Check out the Programs we can present to your group or community by clicking our Prevention tab under Categories. For more information, or to find out how to have a program brought to your community, please contact us at (660) 359-2874.

Conducting Forensic Interviews is the primary service offered by NCMCAC. The interview is typically the cornerstone of a child abuse investigation. Forensic interviews are conducted in a child-friendly environment by specially trained Forensic Interviewers that have received no less than 40 hours of a nationally or state recognized forensic interview training that includes child development and peer review. The interview is culturally sensitive, legally sound, non-leading, unbiased and supported by research, which includes peer review. It seeks to gather information from a child about abuse they may have experienced, allowing for the competence of the child, using the child’s own words. It also aims to reduce trauma for the child, maximize information obtained, maintain the integrity of the investigation, and minimize the contaminating effects of the interview. The Forensic Interviewer may then provide expert testimony within a judicial setting if necessary concerning the interview and the child’s statements.

All referrals for a Forensic Interview must come from a Law Enforcement agency, Children’s Division, or the Juvenile Office.

Children and families in crisis need assistance in navigating through the systems’ response to a report of child abuse. Research has shown that a child believed and supported after having made a disclosure of abuse is more likely to be resilient in processing their trauma, brave enough to endure a judicial process, as well as remain firm in their testimony. The NCMCAC provides advocacy and support for the child and family to assist in trauma reduction and improve overall outcomes. Up-to-date information and ongoing support is critical to a child and family’s comfort and ability to participate in intervention and treatment. Our victim advocacy services also includes court accompaniment, crisis intervention, education on the dynamics of abuse, case coordination, case review facilitation with identified MDT, and therapeutic treatment broker, as well as acts as a referral resource for other services within the community. Services are available from case initiation until case disposition, or the family decides advocacy is not longer needed.

Without effective therapeutic intervention, many traumatized children will suffer ongoing or long term adverse social, emotional, and developmental outcomes that may impact them throughout their lifetime. Specialized trauma-focused mental health services are made available for every child receiving a forensic interview. The treatment process engages the non-offending caretaker, includes trauma-specific assessment with full trauma history, and the use of standardized assessment tools to gauge progress. While the forensic interview is separate from mental health treatment, our counselor attends and participates in the Multi-disciplinary Team (MDT) response during case reviews, so that a child’s treatment needs can be assessed and the child’s mental health can be monitored and taken into account as the MDT makes decisions about the case.

Often called a SAFE-CARE exam, these exams are conducted by medical providers specifically trained to conduct evaluations of child sexual abuse, physical abuse and neglect. These exams are conducted both in urgent and non-urgent circumstances as deemed necessary based upon information obtained during an investigation. NCMCAC refers these exams to Children’s Mercy in Kansas City, MO, to be conducted by experts in the field of child abuse. Members of the multi-disciplinary team (MDT) will work together to ensure that children receive the necessary medical services, evaluations and treatment as determined by information obtained through the investigative process on a case by case and child by child basis.

For more information regarding the SCAN clinic use the following link: Safety, Care & Nurturing (SCAN) | Children's Mercy Kansas City

For a map to the SCAN Clinic please use this link: Children's Mercy Adele Hall | Children's Mercy Kansas City

Every case presented to the North Central Missouri Children’s Advocacy (NCMCAC) is reviewed by the Multi-disciplinary Team (MDT), where collaborative decisions about the case are made.  NCMCAC tracks each case from initiation until disposition to monitor its progress.  Case tracking also assists in program evaluation and generating statistical reports for grant writing and reporting purposes.

We were honored with a $100 dollar donation from the Grundy Center United Methodist Church this morning. Thank you to Pastor Richard Key and his congregation for thinking of us.

A great big wow and hug to Marilyn Dempke and her group from Hugs from Home Quilt Project on their wonderful donation of 18 handmade quilts. These quilts will be used as comfort items for children receiving services from the Advocacy Center. So much love and stitches!

We’re a bit behind but we’d like to give a shout-out to the American Family Insurance Dreams Foundation for their recent generous donation of $1,000 to assist local children reported abused in the following 12 counties: Caldwell, Carroll, Clinton, Daviess, DeKalb, Grundy, Harrison, Linn, Livingston, Mercer, Putnam, and Sullivan. This gift came our way as a result of a donation made by our local American Family Insurance Agency in Trenton via Cara McClellan. Thank you, Cara!