Safe Shores

Client Advocacy services program: Safe Shores' client Advocacy services program is a child victim's first point of contact with Safe Shores. It works with children and their non-offending caregivers throughout The continuum of services. This means helping them access critical information, short- and long-term resources, and tailored, individualized support as these young crime victims and their caregivers move toward healing, reclaiming their sense of agency and self-efficacy, and restoring their sense of trust and hope. The client Advocacy services program provides crisis support, ongoing Advocacy, follow-up, referrals to community services, and information on crime victims' rights and programs to assist crime victims. Through this program, Safe Shores also provides child victims and their families with new transitional clothing, meals, and emergency financial assistance.

Forensic services: Safe Shores' forensic services program (fsp)coordinates and conducts neutral, fact-finding and developmentally-sensitive (forensic) interviews with children affected by abuse and child witnesses to violence on behalf of fellow multidisciplinary team member agencies. The goal of forensic interviews is to ensure that childrens' voices are heard and to minimize The number of times a child must recount any incident of abuse. Forensic services also supports multidisciplinary team collaboration, updating protocols and ensuring best practices. In fy 2019, 702 forensic interviews were conducted by Safe Shores, with children as young as three-years-old up to adolescents aged 17. On occasion upon request by law enforcement, fsp conducts forensic interviews with intellectually disabled adults.

Clinical services: Safe Shores' clinical services program helps families on The road to healing from trauma and abuse by providing evidence-based trauma-informed mental health services. Within The framework of trauma- focused cognitive behavioral therapy (tfcbt) The clinical services team provides a Safe space for children to identify and overcome challenges, develop positive coping skills and build healthy relationships through talk therapy, play therapy, art therapy, sand-tray therapy and other modalities provided to child victims, their non-offending caregivers, and siblings. During fy2020, The clinical services program provided 1,162 therapy sessions to 32 children and provided 1,172 consultations with parents/caregivers, serving 75 children and 90 caregivers.

Teen Advocacy initiative adolescents between The ages of 13 to 17 who have been sexually assaulted in The District of Columbia have The right to an advocate pursuant to dc's sexual assault and victims' rights amendment act of 2019. Safe Shores teen advocates are on call around The clock to be dispatched to help teen survivors in The midst of crisis understand their options and support them in their choices. Teen advocates travel to where The survivors is--at a hospital or elsewhere in The community, as soon as The crime is reported. Examples of The support a teen advocate might provide include referrals to medical care, mental health care, or legal aid. Prevention and outreach program - Safe Shores' prevention and outreach program is rooted in The belief that adults are The first line of defense in protecting children from abuse. Deploying evidence-informed training curricula and also by participating in community events to provide basic information to The public, Safe Shores provides adults who work with and/or care for children in various settings with information about The impact of child abuse and child trauma and equips them with skills to recognize, respond to, and prevent abuse. Mdt advancement and support program -Safe Shores serves as The hub of The wheel of dc's legally mandated, multi-disciplinary team (mdt) response to children impacted by abuse in The District of Columbia. Safe Shores' coordination of The mdt's joint work with child victims and cultivation of collaborative working relationships among The various mdt agencies improves The public system's response to child abuse victims and their families in The District of Columbia. By helping public agencies with different mandates and professional cultures work together more effectively and providing them with up-to-date information about changes in The field of child protection and updated knowledge about child health and development, Safe Shores strengthens these professionals' skills and knowledge, thereby fostering enhanced and cost-saving system efficiency while keeping The needs of child victims at The Center of this work. Maintaining a healthy mdt partnership for nearly three decades requires constant and focused attention, particularly since personnel and leadership at public agencies change regularly. There is a need for ongoing orientation, training, and relationship-building to achieve optimal outcomes for victimized children. Our mdt advancement and support program is dedicated to meeting this need.