COMTREA's Children's Advocacy Center of East Central Missouri (CACECM) is a community-based collaboration that opened its doors in November of 2000 to better serve children named as victims of serious child abuse and neglect.
The CACEM accomplishes this through digitally-recorded forensic interviews, sexual abuse forensic examinations, victim advocacy, mental health referrals, education regarding serious child abuse and collaboration among agencies and professionals.
We serve a ten-county region, including Jefferson, Crawford, Franklin, Gasconade, Phelps, Osage, St. Francois, Ste. Genevieve, Washington, and Iron counties. The CACECM operates in three locations: Desoto, Sullivan and Farmington, MO. The Sullivan office space is donated by Missouri Baptist Hospital and the Bank of Sullivan.
Children are referred by law enforcement agencies or the Children’s Division. An interview is held in a child-friendly environment. The interview is viewed on a closed circuit television by a multi-disciplinary team consisting of law enforcement, Children’s Division and the juvenile office. A copy of the recording is given to the law enforcement agency for evidence and copies of the report summary are forwarded to the multi-disciplinary team members. The DeSoto office also has the capability of providing SAFE/CARE exams (Sexual Abuse Forensic Examination). For more information, visit the CACECM website.
Children's Advocacy Center
