Grace for the Kids: Whiteville child advocacy center provides support for abuse victims

WHITEVILLE, N.C. (WECT) - A child advocacy center in Whiteville is changing the lives of children who have experienced physical or sexual abuse.

Carolyn’s Kaleidoscope Child Advocacy Center is a program under the Boys and Girls Homes of North Carolina. The center provides forensic interviews, medical exams and therapy services for children who have experienced trauma.

Lauren Geiss, a forensic interviewer at the center, meets with children in a room designed to look like a toy room. She uses a questioning protocol called “RADAR” to help children share their stories.

“When I tell people what I do, they’re like, ‘Oh my gosh, I don’t know how you do what you do.’ And some people mean that in like a positive way, but I think some people are like, ‘How, genuinely, like how can someone listen to that every day?’ And I wish people understood like somebody’s got to do it,” Geiss said.

Geiss said she meets children where they are, depending on age, attitude and the child’s comfort level.

“Sometimes we have to play for 30 minutes before we start talking about the hard stuff,” she said.

A camera in the corner of the room records the interviews. The goal is to get the child’s account on tape so they do not have to share their trauma repeatedly with investigators, lawyers or a jury. Those working the case can sit in a nearby room and watch the interview in real time.

“So many people who have harmed children are now being held accountable, and that’s coming from the child advocacy center,” Donna Yalch, Chief Community-Based Services Officer for Boys and Girls Homes, said.

The center has an exam room where a medical provider checks for physical signs of trauma or abuse to help with investigations.

The center also offers therapy services.

“The Child Advocacy Center is created to be a continuum of care. We offer in-house therapy so that they can continue their healing process,” the center’s director Danielle Nolan said.

First Assistant District Attorney Jenna Earley said having one location where children can get everything they need helps both the children and those working to prosecute abusers.

“I’ve spent the majority of my career handling child sexual abuse and child physical abuse cases. Having a child advocacy center local for our kiddos is paramount to successful investigations and prosecutions,” Earley said.

The center conducts about six forensic interviews a week. Geiss said she has conducted 450 interviews over the past three years. She works with teenagers up to 18 years old and toddlers as young as 3 and a half.

Nolan said there are no trends when it comes to child sexual abuse.

“Abuse doesn’t know a specific victim. And so we see all ages, all genders, all races. Really, it could happen to anyone,” the director said.

Geiss said her job is difficult, but she knows she is where she is meant to be.

“At the end of the day, when we hear about people that get locked up or, you know, children that finally get the justice that they’ve waited for for years, that’s what makes it worth it,” she said.

Carolyn’s Kaleidoscope is hosting its annual fundraiser, the Kaleidoscope of Hope Soiree, on May 1. To get tickets, you can click here.

To learn more about volunteering, fostering or adoption through Boys and Girls Homes of North Carolina, you can click here.