2/14/14 news article

CARE House opens doors to new building

“Building a Promise” campaign comes to life

CARE House, Montgomery County’s children’s advocacy center, is opening the doors to its new building on February 14, 2014. With the support of the community, the “Building a Promise” campaign exceeded its goal, raising over $2.3 million to build the new facility. CARE House, Dayton Children’s and Montgomery County officials are grateful for the ability to provide expanded and updated services to victims of child abuse in the county.

“I am extremely excited to begin a new chapter in CARE House’s history. This new building will afford us all kinds of opportunities to improve and enhance our services and to ultimately grow the program,” says Libby Nicholson, director of CARE House.

Each day, 13 children are reported abused or neglected in Montgomery County- 13 children who have to relive their nightmare as they tell their painful story to those who will and need to listen. It’s for the worst of these cases that CARE House exists. Since its inception in 1999, CARE House served over 8,000 families who have been affected by abuse.

“When that first child walks through the door we hope to see the look in their eyes that shows they know that this place belongs to them,” says Nicholson. “We want them to know it is a safe place for them to come and that there are caring people inside who are going to listen to what they have to say and who are going to help them.”

CARE House involves a partnership between Dayton Children’s, Montgomery County Prosecutor’s Office, Dayton Police Department, Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office and Montgomery County Department of Job and Family Services. In addition to these founding partners, all law enforcement agencies in Montgomery County utilize CARE House for their child abuse investigations.

“We are very grateful to all the donors for their generosity and willingness to step up to improve the lives of children and families exposed to abuse,” says Mat Heck, Jr., Montgomery County Prosecuting Attorney and campaign chair. “Our old CARE House building was inefficient and not conducive to the work that my office and our partners do for children of child abuse. This new CARE House is bright, child-friendly, and allows us to address emerging needs and seize new opportunities to advocate for children.”

The new building designed by architectural firm LWC Incorporated and built by American Trademark Construction nearly doubles in size from the old CARE House. Some of the new features include:

A child-centered reception area
Two sound-proof, child-friendly interview and observation rooms
State-of-the-art recording equipment
A case review room
Expanded space for mental health treatment
A multipurpose room for group therapy, support groups and prevention training

“Our mission at Dayton Children’s is to improve the health status of all children through service, education, research and advocacy. CARE House is a prime example of working to meet this mission,” says Deborah Feldman, president and CEO at Dayton Children’s. “The new building not only provides enhanced services to our families, but it also shows a lasting commitment to our community to uphold our mission and to provide the best care to children in this region.”

About CARE House

Established in 1999, CARE House, the Montgomery County children’s advocacy center, serves child abuse victims through a centralized, child-focused approach that brings together law enforcement, child protection services, prosecution, mental health experts, medical professionals and victim advocates to help reduce the trauma victims experience after abuse has been reported and serves more than 600 children a year, often the worst of the nearly 5,000 cases of abuse reported in Montgomery County each year. To learn more about CARE House please visit www.thecarehouse.org or ‘like’ CARE House on Facebook.

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