Stop Child Abuse Now (SCAN) - 2795

Tonight's special guest is Dominic Prophete, the Executive Director of Wynona's House in New Jersey, a Child Advocacy Center (CAC) where the mission is to promote justice and healing of child victims of abuse and violence by coordinating investigative, prosecutorial, treatment, and prevention services. The vision of Wynona's House is to create a community where children are safe, families, are strong, and victims become children again, by: 1) reducing the number of times a child is interviewed during the investigation phase to a single interview conducted by a specially trained interviewer in a child-friendly environment, 2) increasing successful prosecution through improved evidence collection, victim-witness advocacy, and partnerships with municipal law enforcement, 3) promoting the research and development of innovative evidence-based behavioral health treatments for children and families, and 4) strengthening the safety net for children through community outreach, education, and prevention efforts. Wynona's House serves the Essex County community and beyond, and the Metro RDTC is one of New Jersey's four state-designated multidisciplinary centers for the evaluation and treatment of abused and neglected children. They primarily serve children and families who reside in Essex County. The team of physicians, social workers and psychologists are experts in the field of child maltreatment, anf they work closely with the Division of Child Protection and Permanency (DCP&P), the county prosecutor's offices, the Office of the Public Defender Division of the Law Guardian, as well as hospitals, physicians, the courts, community groups and other organizations dedicated to restoring the health and well-being of abused and neglected children throughout New Jersey.