2022 Regular Session ENROLLED
SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 11
BY SENATOR HENRY
A RESOLUTION
To designate Wednesday, April 13, 2022, as Children's Advocacy Centers (CACs) Day in
Louisiana.
WHEREAS, Louisiana's Children's Advocacy Centers have made valuable
contributions to the state and have helped to make the state a better place for children and
families; and
WHEREAS, with the establishment of the Jefferson Children's Advocacy Center in
Gretna, Louisiana, in 1991, this year, 2022, marks thirty-one years for Children's Advocacy
Centers in Louisiana; and
WHEREAS, April has been designated National Child Abuse Prevention Month; and
WHEREAS, one in ten children will experience sexual abuse before age eighteen;
and
WHEREAS, Louisiana's Children's Advocacy Centers provides services to over six
thousand children each year in the sixty-four parishes of Louisiana for cases involving
physical abuse, neglect, sexual abuse, human trafficking, and children who have witnessed
domestic violence and homicide; and
WHEREAS, Louisiana's Children's Advocacy Centers provide education and
awareness efforts for the prevention, identification, and reporting of child abuse; and
WHEREAS, in 2021 alone, Louisiana's Children's Advocacy Centers reached over
thirty-six thousand professionals and community members; and
WHEREAS, the purpose of Louisiana's Children's Advocacy Centers is to provide
every child victim referred to a CAC a comfortable, child-friendly environment for forensic
interviewing, victim advocacy, mental health, and other services in order to reduce further
trauma to the child and promote healing; and
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WHEREAS, Children's Advocacy Centers work with multi-disciplinary teams of
child abuse professionals to coordinate child abuse investigations and interventions,
including district attorneys, the Department of Children and Family Services, various law
enforcement agencies, medical and mental health providers, and victim advocates; and
WHEREAS, CACs use evidence-based practices to support child well-being, and that
research has demonstrated these programs improve outcomes for children, reduce trauma
for families, and save taxpayer money; and
WHEREAS, the Louisiana Alliance of Children's Advocacy Centers is the state
chapter established for the empowerment, collaboration, and advocacy of Louisiana's
Children's Advocacy Centers; and
WHEREAS, the Louisiana Alliance of Children's Advocacy Centers provides a wide
range of critical services to local member centers, including training, technical assistance,
data collection, and advocacy; and
WHEREAS, with ten centers that are currently fully accredited members in good
standing with the National Children's Alliance, and up to five centers on the path to national
accreditation, Louisiana's Children's Advocacy Centers are a part of a network of over nine
hundred centers across the nation which serve over three hundred fifty thousand children
annually.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Senate of the Legislature of Louisiana
does hereby designate Wednesday, April 13, 2022, as Children's Advocacy Centers (CACs)
Day in Louisiana and does hereby commend the dedication and excellent work of the
Children's Advocacy Centers and their staff on behalf of the citizens of Louisiana.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the
Louisiana Alliance of Children's Advocacy Centers Board President, Aelania Auzenne, and
Executive Director, Kate Shipley.
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
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