THE c HIL d REN’S ASSESS m ENT c ENTER

What year was your organization launched? The Children’s Assessment Center (The CAC) began providing services to Harris County children and families in 1991, and our Foundation was created in 1995 to provide additional funding for increased access to our well-rounded care.

What is your mission? The mission of The CAC is to provide a professional, compassionate and coordinated approach to the treatment of sexually abused children and their families and to serve as an advocate for all children in our community. Simply put, we exist to protect children, heal families, and prevent child sexual abuse and child sex trafficking in our community.

Why did you launch the organization? The CAC is the only advocacy center in Harris County and the largest in the nation. We provide healing services to over 6,000 child sexual abuse victims and their families each year. The goal of The CAC is to provide all the services children and families need in one place. We provide forensic interviewing, therapy and psychological services, and medical services free of charge to our clients. We also facilitate community outreach and prevention training to raise awareness about child abuse in our community and how to keep children safe. We hope our process will give children and families the tools necessary to empower them on their healing journey. We exist to help our community become a better, safer place for each child of Harris County.

What are you most proud of? At The CAC, awareness and advocacy are the foundation for keeping children safe. The CAC provides prevention trainings to adults and children in Harris County. We are proud to announce that in 2022, our team trained 36,685 community members — a 239 percent increase from 2021 to 2022! You can learn more about our free virtual and in-person trainings on our website cachouston.og.

Tell us about your big event. The CAC is excited to host the Spirit of Spring Gala on April 29, 2023, at the Marriott Marquis, chaired by Consuelo Macpherson, Mariana Pope,and Sara Downey. Our Gala has taken a 20+ year hiatus, and now we welcome supporters to our reimagined cornerstone event. Join us for a fun and mission-focused evening where guests will have the opportunity to hear from a survivor of child sexual abuse that now works as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in Detroit, and a therapist who works directly with child survivors and families to overcome the trauma of abuse. As individuals, organizations and a community, we must come together to protect children, and become part of the solution. We invite you to make this commitment to help us empower children on their healing journey as survivors of sexual abuse. Please join us at our Gala and be part of the solution to end child sexual abuse in our community. To learn more, please visit our CAC website or event page at cvent.me/EDM7gV