Memphis Child Advocacy Center

Mission/History


Our mission is to serve children who are victims of sexual and severe physical abuse through prevention, education and intervention. Our vision is a community where children are safe, families are strong, and victims become children again.

The Memphis Child Advocacy Center is guided by three basic beliefs:

  • The intervention system must be sensitive to the needs of abused children and their families and meet their needs by respecting the uniqueness of each child and family.
  • Child abuse is a community problem. No single agency, individual or discipline has the necessary skills, knowledge or resources to provide the assistance needed by abused children or their families.
  • The combined wisdom and professional knowledge of child protective services, law enforcement, prosecutors, mental health providers and juvenile court will result in a more complete understanding of case issues and provide the most effective response possible.

It’s a team approach. And it’s what makes us unique.

History of the Memphis Child Advocacy Center

The CAC was formally incorporated in 1987 as the Memphis and Shelby County Child Sexual Abuse Council. The CAC model was created first in 1985 in Huntsville, Alabama, by District Attorney General Bud Cramer. He was determined that children should not be re-victimized by the systems (law enforcement, prosecution, child protection) put in place to protect them.

In 1985, the “Covington Bill” was passed resulting in the Tennessee code annotated Sec 37-1-607 (a)(2) mandating that a multi-disciplinary team investigate child sexual abuse. The same law allows for the team investigation of severe physical abuse. The team is known as the Child Protective Investigation Team (CPIT). A sub-unit of this team, comprised of over 50 professionals, works at the Child Advocacy Center.

The CAC opened in 1992 and is located in a restored Victorian house listed on the National Register of Historic Places. In 2002, the Center completed a 10,500 square foot expansion which has allowed expansion of the team members on-site at the CAC, thus maximizing the benefits of the team approach to child abuse. This means more staff are working side by side to make sure all children receive the caring and timely response they deserve. The increased space is customized for the needs of children and their families through comfortable areas for private meetings, technology for closed circuit observation of interviews, and an inviting atmosphere for play therapy.

In 1999, the Memphis CAC became a member agency of the United Way of the Mid-South, helping link the Center with additional community resources. The Center was named partner agency of the United Way in 2002, in recognition of the Center’s meaningful program outcome measures and high level of participation in the annual United Way campaign.

The Memphis CAC was certified as a child abuse prevention agency by the State of Tennessee in 2001. A full member of the National Children’s Alliance since 1992, the Center completed a rigorous membership standards evaluation process in 2003, and the Center’s full membership was affirmed. “As a member of this growing movement of children’s advocacy centers, this evaluation is a celebration of the hard work accomplished by your community,” noted Nancy Chandler, former director of the National Children’s Alliance.