This time last year, the Child Advocacy Center was in dire need of help to keep the doors open. Multiple county meetings were hijacked with talks of funding and discussions of whether or not to temporarily close the doors.
And by the end of 2021, grant funding had been lost, accreditation was not promising, and there was only one employee left to work with the children who were brought to the CAC due to trauma. Despite all the turmoil and uncertainty, Forensic Interviewer Vanessa Parsons continued to work.
In January 2022, Kayxandra Koonce was hired as the new Executive Director and immediately jumped into the fire with both feet. The list of expectations included reinstating lost grants, repairing relationships, transitioning to a non-profit, restore the facility to a child-friendly space, meeting state and national accreditation standards, developing a sustainability plan, and rebranding the organization.
Project: SAFE Director Renee Clemmons said, “The child advocacy center is a critical component in serving children in our community who have been victimized. Project: SAFE values the collaboration between our agencies and the multidisciplinary team members in Pottawatomie and Lincoln counties that results in safer families.”
Eight months after taking the helm, Koonce reports that the list is near complete.
Koonce said the CAC is now Child Advocacy Center of Central Oklahoma (CACCO).
“We have reinstated the VOCA (Victims Of Crime Act) grant, and the other grant is pending our site review, which is scheduled for November. We have received positive feedback from the NCA. They feel like we are in a good place and don’t see anything that would prohibit us from passing.”
“We have not made the jump,” said Koonce, “but we have the letter from the IRS to transition to a nonprofit. We have been approved for $207,668 for VOCA, $100,000 in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds from the Pottawatomie County Commissioners, and $4,000 grant from Arvest Bank.”
She said, “Once the grant funds are received, and our governing board approves, we will begin the transition.”
The VOCA grant was previously filed through the DAs office, and funds were combined with the DA.
However, a breakdown shows that the CAC was awarded $224,151 in 2019 and $213,966 in 2020. The District Attorney’s Council VOCATeam and VOCA Board issued a letter to award recipients stating the board received multiple calculations to implement 10 percent cuts and up to 30 percent cuts from the 2021 awards. The board chose not to drastically cut 2022 funding levels with hopes of providing additional time to enhance sustainability and diversify funding sources.
Koonce said sustainability plans are ready. Once CACCO transitions to a nonprofit, fundraising programs will be developed.
She also said the place has been decluttered, cleaned up, painted, and is now a child-friendly setting. “We have space that is appropriate now. It could be more trauma informed, but when you hear a kid say that they don’t want to leave, they want to stay and play, you know you are doing something right.
“They love Melissa (Hill) and Vanessa. They do a phenomenal job of making a traumatic day for these children just a little less traumatic.”
Koonce said relationships have also been repaired. “Nothing brings me more joy than seeing an officer, advocate, or child welfare investigator stop by, not because they have to, but because they want to. They want to stop in just for a minute of rest, self-care.”
“I think it is the camaraderie they need when they are feeling stressed,” she said. “Hopefully, we are helping with the retention of the people out there working the front lines.”
Pottawatomie County Sheriff’s Office Victim Advocate Dakota Black said, “Since I’ve worked in this county, the CAC is the best that it’s ever been. We can call in as law enforcement, and within an hour, if not less, we have somebody down there and ready for us to come in with our victims.”
“A lot of the people that I talk to at trainings say they don’t have CACs that are that involved in investigations; that are that invested in the investigators,” said Black. “It’s cool, because it’s another tool that we as investigators can utilize like going down there and brainstorming with the women.”
Koonce said, “We’ve marked off the initial things that were on the checklist. But, there is still a lot more we want to accomplish over the next five years; even over the next year, to provide the quality of trauma-focused services that we need for our community.”
“We could not be where we are or have done what we have done without our multidisciplinary team or our county commissioners,” said Koonce. “And my team, Vanessa (Parsons), Jessica (Grant), and Melissa (Hill), have put in long hours, long days. In addition to doing all of the stuff we just discussed to pass our site reviews and get our grant submissions in, we have been serving and caring for children. In June we served just over 40 kids and their families while completing our reacreditation application. Without that teamwork, it would not have happened.”
Koonce has made a new checklist of things she wants to see accomplished, which includes a more permanent, forever space, an additional forensic interviewer/ family advocate, and a Program Administrator to assist with grant development and oversee the SANE Program.
She would also like to have an onsite therapist to handle acute responses for families, helping them process the initial trauma and getting them connected to therapists. She said she would also like to have an onsite medical doctor.
“I would like to create more awareness and support from our community,” said Koonce. “We have to ensure that we’re putting the supports and resources in place up front, not once they’re adults. These are our babies, our children. It’s our responsibility to take care of them and ensure their needs are met. If we do this correctly, then we will have fewer people sitting in jail and fewer people sitting out on the streets.”
