Members of the Team

We are committed to helping our Child Protections Investigation Team (CPIT) members remain equipped to do their best work. The Memphis Child Advocacy Center provides hundreds of hours of professional training for therapists, case managers, law enforcement officers, and prosecutors each year. The CPIT includes:

Interviewers
Highly trained Forensic Interviewers meet with alleged victims in the CAC’s safe and comfortable interviewing rooms, each arranged for video monitoring, to obtain accurate and reliable information.

Prosecution
The Prosecutor for Child Abuse works directly under the District Attorney General. This person is the leader of the CPIT and offers legal advice on all child abuse investigations. The CAC is fortunate to have three full-time prosecutors, which allows for vertical prosecution (one prosecutor handles a case from the time a report is made to the conclusion of court proceedings).

Law enforcement
The role of the Memphis Police Department Child Abuse Unit is to investigate possible crimes for criminal prosecution. Investigators focus on getting the facts and gathering evidence for the District Attorney, who decides whether a case will be presented to the Grand Jury.

Child Protective Services (Department of Children’s Services)
The main job of child protective services is to assess the risk to the child in an effort to assure that the child is not in danger from neglect or abuse. This information that is obtained in the investigation is used to make the best decision regarding the welfare of the child.

Mental health
Counseling is an important part of the team approach. The involvement of a mental health professional with the team enhances the overall investigation by providing interpretation of psychological information and treatment recommendations.

Medical
On June 1, 2009, Le Bonheur became the fourth organization to locate staff and services onsite at the Child Advocacy Center. When there is an allegation of abuse, Le Bonheur provides forensic medical exams as part of our array of specialized services. Medical services are performed by S.A.N.E. certified (Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner) pediatric nurse practitioners – professionals uniquely trained in the evaluation of children and adolescents.