Task Force Goals

In 1986, a group of professionals representing various segments of the child protection and criminal justice systems formed a task force to address the trauma that child abuse victims were suffering as a result of the policies and procedures within the system. At the time, there was very little communication or coordination between the agencies charged with protecting children and prosecuting crimes. Nationally, there had been several high profile child abuse cases that pointed out how the flaws in the system were actually hurting and not helping children. Locally, the first chief of the Child Abuse Division at the Harris County District Attorney’s Office attended a conference at the National Children’s Advocacy Center (CAC) in Huntsville, AL, in early 1986. The nation’s first CAC had been launched in 1985 and it demonstrated the value of creating a multidisciplinary, child-focused system in order to better serve children and families and hold offenders accountable. That idea came back to Houston and the Harris County Child Abuse Task Force was born.

The group of concerned professionals that first gathered in Harris County set an ambitious agenda of creating local standards, providing training and putting policies in place that encouraged cooperation, coordination and communication between the many agencies involved in investigating, treating and prosecuting crimes against children. Everyone agreed that by working together, the trauma experienced by child victims could be reduced and case outcomes could be improved. Representatives from law enforcement, the District Attorney’s Office, Children’s Protective Services, the medical and mental health communities, social service agencies and advocacy groups met monthly, committed to improving the local response to child abuse victims.

Out of those efforts came our local CAC, the Children’s Advocacy Center. Once it was established under Harris County, the Task Force turned to providing networking opportunities and high quality professional trainings to professionals, advocates and concerned citizens. The Task Force also led local efforts to increase community awareness of child abuse. The Child Abuse is Everybody’s Business campaign became an annual theme during Child Abuse Prevention Month that was promoted through press conferences, banners and taxi cab signs.

Today, the Harris County Child Abuse Task Force is a leader in providing relevant and timely trainings for professionals and community members that address current trends and developments in the field. Additionally, the Task Force promotes public awareness and education about child abuse and prevention, encourages the reporting of children abuse, and provides networking opportunities that enhance the multidisciplinary response to child abuse in our community.