SLS 21RS-441 ORIGINAL
2021 Regular Session
SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 13
BY SENATOR HENRY
SPECIAL DAY/WEEK/MONTH. Designates Monday, April 19, 2021, as Child Advocacy
Center (CAC) Day in Louisiana.
1 A RESOLUTION
2 To designate Monday, April 19, 2021, as Child Advocacy Center (CAC) Day in Louisiana.
3 WHEREAS, Louisiana's Child Advocacy Centers have made valuable contributions
4 to the state and have helped to make the state a better place for children and families; and
5 WHEREAS, with the establishment of the Jefferson Children's Advocacy Center in
6 Gretna, Louisiana in 1991, this year, 2021, marks the thirtieth anniversary for Child
7 Advocacy Centers in Louisiana; and
8 WHEREAS, April has been designated National Child Abuse Prevention Month; and
9 WHEREAS, one in ten children will be experience sexual abuse before age eighteen;
10 and
11 WHEREAS, Louisiana's Child Advocacy Centers provide services to over 5,000
12 children each year in the sixty-four parishes of this state for cases involving physical abuse,
13 neglect, sexual abuse, human trafficking, and children who have witnessed domestic
14 violence and homicide; and
15 WHEREAS, Louisiana's Child Advocacy Centers reach over 23,000 professionals
16 and community members annually through education and awareness efforts for the
17 prevention, identification, and reporting of child abuse; and
18 WHEREAS, the purpose of Louisiana's Child Advocacy Centers is to provide every
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SLS 21RS-441 ORIGINAL
1 child victim referred to CAC a comfortable, child-friendly environment for forensic
2 interviewing, victim advocacy, mental health, and other services in order to reduce further
3 trauma to the child and promote healing; and
4 WHEREAS, Child Advocacy Centers work with multidisciplinary teams of child
5 abuse professionals to coordinate child abuse investigation and intervention, including
6 district attorneys, Department of Children and Family Services, various law enforcement
7 agencies, medical and mental health providers, and victim advocates; and
8 WHEREAS, CACs use evidence-based practices to support child well-being, and that
9 research has demonstrated these programs improve outcomes for children, reduce trauma
10 for families, and save taxpayer money; and
11 WHEREAS, the Louisiana Alliance of Children's Advocacy Centers is the state
12 chapter established for the empowerment, collaboration, and advocacy of Louisiana's Child
13 Advocacy Centers and provides a wide range of critical services to local member centers,
14 including training, technical assistance, data collection, and advocacy; and
15 WHEREAS, with ten centers who are currently full accredited members in good
16 standing with the National Children's Alliance, and five centers on the path to national
17 accreditation, Louisiana's Child Advocacy Centers are a part of a network of over nine
18 hundred centers across the nation which serve over 350,000 children annually.
19 THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Senate of the Legislature of Louisiana
20 does hereby designate Monday, April 19, 2021, as Child Advocacy Center (CAC) Day in
21 Louisiana and does hereby commend the dedication and excellent work of the CACs and
22 their staff on behalf of the citizens of Louisiana.
23 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the
24 Louisiana Alliance of Children's Advocacy Centers Board President, Joelle Henderson, and
25 its Executive Director, Kate Shipley.
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SLS 21RS-441 ORIGINAL
The original instrument and the following digest, which constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument, were prepared by Jerry J. Guillot.
DIGEST
SR 13 Original 2021 Regular Session Henry
Designates Monday, April 19, 2021, as Child Advocacy Center (CAC) Day in Louisiana and
commends the dedication and excellent work of the CACs and their staff on behalf of the
citizens of Louisiana.
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