Tallahassee is home to a Children’s Advocacy Center that serves all eight counties in the Big Bend region.
The center offers therapeutic counseling and medical services to child victims and has been in operation since 2017 under the authority of the Children’s Home Society.
But now, that center is at risk.
“Recently, what we discovered through one of our primary funders, the Victims of Crime Act, which comes through the Office of the Attorney General, was a significant cut in funding,” Children’s Home Society Executive Director Tiffany Martin said.
The cut was 62.4%, according to Martin, and is affecting advocacy centers across the country as a decrease in prosecutions and fines has occurred nationwide.
But Martin says that doesn’t mean offenses aren’t happening.
“When there is a decrease in prosecutions, there is a decrease of fines, which means there is a decrease of funding going into this which has been passed down into every single state,” Martin said.
“But we know that just because there are no prosecutions or the numbers are declining does not necessarily mean that things aren’t happening. But what it does mean is they’re probably not being reported, what it does mean is that families may not know what to do, or they just may not be sure where to go, or how to really start that journey for their family.”
She went before the Children’s Services Council of Leon County in October to ask for $232,516 to support two key staff roles at the center over the course of three years.
Martin said the two positions are a mental health clinician, providing therapy services, and an intake specialist, to greet and assist families.
“We know that our CAC is not the only CAC that’s being impacted, but we’re really grateful that we have an opportunity to advocate here in our local community to continue services,” Martin said to council members at the CSC meeting last month.
But the council said no.
“My heart goes out to you, it really does, and I want to fund you, and I’m trying to figure out, what can we do,” CSC chair Zandra Glenn said. “But I need to make sure that whatever dollars we give you, only goes to children at Leon County, and not because I don’t have a heart for the kids of the other counties, that’s just how we’re mandated.”
CSC Leon is mandated to only fund services exclusive to Leon County residents. While the local CSC is mandated by these bylaws, others are not.
CSC Executive Director Cecka Rose Green, a FAMU alumna, served in Martin’s position prior to joining the CSC in 2021.
She gave the council information on other CSCs that funded their local advocacy centers before the October meeting and clarified that it was without bias to the nonprofit she served for two years.
She said CSCs in Broward and St. Lucie counties funded local advocacy centers.
“Let me be clear that I am not offering an opinion either way. However, I believe it would be derelict for me not to give you as much information as possible to help you make an informed decision,” Green said in an email to council members.
Martin said those who wish to donate to the advocacy center can do so at https://chsfl.org/ways-to-give/.