Cardboard cutouts to help raise funds for child advocacy center

Long blond hair, children’s clothing and a smiling face bring a cardboard child to life.

And officials with the Foothills Child Advocacy Center hope the figurines, designed to raise money to cover the costs of forensic investigative services for children, will help promote awareness.

“Each cardboard figure represents a child we’ve worked with in the last year,” said Jane Tirrell, administrative coordinator for Foothills.

The FCAC works with local law enforcement, child protective services and other agencies to investigate allegations of child abuse.

Children are brought to the FCAC, located in the same office space as Children, Youth & Family Services in Charlottesville, for interviews in cases where abuse is suspected.

It’s a space officials say makes a child feel more comfortable.

“Foothills is a really child-friendly environment,” said Albemarle County police Detective Elizabeth Morris. “In a police lobby there are really not a lot of things for a child to entertain themselves with.”

This year, the FCAC is hoping to raise $30,000 to defer the costs of forensic interviewing and case management services.

For $300, donors can sponsor a “poster child,” one for each of the 130 children the agency worked with last year.

Donors can take the “poster child” home to decorate or volunteers will decorate them. The posters will then be placed around town in observance of Child Abuse Month in April, Tirrell said.

Organizers are also hoping to attract corporate sponsors. All the money will go into the organization’s general fund.

“By having a doll in your business, you’re supporting abuse victims in the community,” Tirrell said.

Trained investigators sit down at the FCAC and interview children and caregivers in a non-leading manner, Morris said. The interviewing space is kid-friendly with small chairs and a table set at a child’s level.

“We do everything we can to make it comfortable for the children,” said Jennifer Kline, program director for Foothills.

The FCAC, working with the other agencies, meet regularly to go over all of their cases. They also work with families and caregivers to make sure the children receive aftercare.

“We follow the case through,” Kline said. “Our main goal is to protect the child in every case.”

In 2010, the FCAC worked with 130 children. Of those cases, more than 70 percent involved allegations of sexual abuse. In all of the cases, the alleged offender was a person known to the victim.

Along with investigative services, Foothills also provides training for the public on how to recognize possible child abuse. The three-hour training sessions are free and are held at the FCAC offices or off site.

“This class helps people know what to look for,” Tirrell said.

The FCAC has also been helpful in providing a source of funding for training for law enforcement as police budgets have become limited in recent years, Morris said.

“They’ve found money to help me do my job in a more compassionate and efficient manner,” Morris said.

The FCAC was created by the Charlottesville/Albemarle Commission on Children and Families as a way to help young victims of crime. The organization is funded through the city of Charlottesville, state and local grants and private donations.

Darby Lowe, deputy commonwealth’s attorney for Albemarle County, has worked in the area for more than 18 years. She said the FCAC has helped streamline services for child abuse victims.

Children are brought in and interviewed in one setting and in a non-leading manner.

“It’s a child-friendly place,” Lowe said. “There was a lot of thought and planning that went into organizing [the FCAC] and it’s been really successful.”

To learn more about the Foothills Child Advocacy Center or to sponsor a poster child, call 971-7233 or go to www.foothillscac.org.