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First of Its Kind Child Advocacy Center Opens In Montgomery County:

Mission Kids Officially Launches Services To Combat Child Abuse

East Norriton, PA, October 7, 2009 - Mission Kids announces today the launch of their Child Advocacy Center in East Norriton, making it the first of its kind in Montgomery County. With this program, medical professionals, law enforcement, social workers and attorneys come together to help child abuse victims and their families, and strengthen law enforcements ability to prosecute offenders.

The organization, founded in March 2007, has been anxiously awaiting the launch of the Child Advocacy Center. With an estimated 600 child abuse investigations in Montgomery County each year, the Mission Kids center will provide a broad range of support services to victims and their families in an environment that encourages healing and facilitates successful prosecution of alleged offenders. This has long been the goal of many law enforcement individuals in Montgomery County, including District Attorney and co-founder of Mission Kids Risa Vetri Ferman, who has made it a personal mission to launch this organization.

“Our focus has always been the children,” said Abbie Newman, executive director of Mission Kids. “We’re pleased to officially open our doors to provide the safe environment that allows these children to focus on healing. We’ve received such an outstanding level of support throughout this process, it’s great to see everything come to fruition.”

Currently, these children undergo numerous, lengthy interviews from police officers, counselors, law enforcement and attorneys. Often times, this can cause a child re-live the experience. The Mission Kids center will streamline this system, providing a venue where all of the necessary individuals can receive information through one single interview, lessening the stress put upon the child.  

One supporter instrumental in the organization’s launch was the North Penn Community Health Foundation. The foundation aided in determining the ideal organizational structure for a Child Advocacy Center in Montgomery County.

“As a health-oriented organization, we understand the importance of helping vulnerable children,” said Russell Johnson, president and CEO of North Penn Community Health Foundation. “Trauma needs to be managed and dealt with. It was our goal to help devise a center where kids have the necessary support as they cope with their trauma, allowing them to move on with their lives.”

The organization has also partnered with CHOP, who today officially opens a center in King of Prussia where children can receive medical examinations from experts in identifying and treating victims of abuse.

“Medical examinations are a vital component of the investigative process so it is important that these children are assessed and treated properly,” said Madeline Bell from Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. “The opening of these two facilities will provide the means to better serve these kids, simplifying the prosecution and treatment so that these children can have a future.”

Those who would like to make a donation to Mission Kids may contact executive director, Abbie Newman at 484-687-2990, or visit www.missionkidscac.org.

About Mission Kids

Mission Kids is a 501(c)(3) corporation located in East Norriton, Pennsylvania. Founded in March 2007, Mission Kids was created by the collaborative effort of the Montgomery County District Attorney, the Police Chiefs of Montgomery County, and the Montgomery County Office of Children and Youth to stop the life cycle of abuse and improve the outcomes for abused children and their families. Mission Kids will serve as a child-friendly facility where medical professionals, social workers, police officers and lawyers come together to streamline the investigative process and provide victims with the necessary support services to help them heal.

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