(Pat Hernandez/KUHF-Public Radio)
The atmosphere at the Children’s Assessment Center off Kirby is so cheerful, that a person might find it hard to see that the center is what Tammy Hetmaniak, Community Coordinator calls “a one-stop shop” for sexually abused children and their families. She’s been with them for almost 12 years, and three years before as an investigator.
“We are able to provide what had to be done throughout the city in different offices and locations. We can provide it in one place. Medical services, forensic interviewing, therapy and psychological services, and prevention for the community and the people that we work with in the building.”
The center, which has some 50 employees, serves an estimated 5,000 children and teens year from the age of 0 to 17. …The success of the center has necessitated the need for expansion as the direct and immediate costs of child sexual abuse are nearly $43 million each year. (Read/listen to the full story at KUHF)
OTHER NEWS LINKS:
- HISD Tables Changes for Magnets, Ethics Rules (Houston Chronicle)
- James Baker III to Head Major Coastal Project (Houston Chronicle)
- Habitat for Humanity Accepts Bellaire’s Teardown Challenge (Your Houston News)
- Goodfellows: Attorney Shares Holiday Spirit with $200,000 Gift (Houston Chronicle)
- EPA Links Hydraulic Fracturing With Groundwater Pollution (Fuel Fix)
- Former Houston Gambler, Jim Kelly Receives Humanitarian Award (Rotary Lombardi Blog)