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Grant for iPads will help provide healing, but also to investigate, prosecute abuse

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (June 3, 2015) – Family & Children’s Place this week received a $2,320 grant from Ronald McDonald Charities of Kentuckiana to purchase six iPad tablets, which it will use to help document, report, investigate and prosecute crimes of sexual abuse and violence against children.

The grant will fund the purchase of six tablets – four iPad Minis and two iPads, along with protective covers – for the agency’s Kosair Charities Child Advocacy Center (KCCAC).

The KCCAC houses therapists, forensic interviewers, the Crimes Against Children Unit of Louisville Metro Police, Child Protective Services, Commonwealth’s Attorney office and physicians from the University of Louisville School of Medicine, who work collaboratively to stop, investigate and prosecute child abuse and help child survivors and their families heal.

“The iPads give our trauma-informed therapists and interviewers a powerful tool to use to assist with a child’s report of sexual abuse or violence, to help the child define and describe the abuse and to outline treatment options that provide for recovery and healing,” said Becky League, executive director of the child advocacy center.

Through the grant, forensic interviewers and therapists will use the tablets to assess the educational development of children to recognize and identify any potential learning disabilities, allowing them to adjust interview and counseling processes to match the child’s development age.

Family advocates will use the tablets to provide direct links to families for services and to identify gaps in services.  They also will assist with survey collections to increase service and identify service needs.

Police, in conjunction with forensic interviewers, will use the iPads with children to help understand and document the reported abuse and to potentially identify the person who abused them. The tablets also will give police and Child Protective Services ready access to social media sites and known abused child-focused websites, which may help in the investigation and prosecution of crimes against children.

“These iPads, from the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Kentuckiana, will enable us to more efficiently and effectively understand the traumas a child and family have suffered, provide a path to healing and give police and prosecutors the information they need to stop and prevent others from suffering sexual abuse or violence,” said League.

Ronald McDonald Charities of Kentuckiana help address pressing problems that face area families today by tailoring its philanthropy and programs to support nonprofit programs that directly improve the health and well-being of children. As part of the grant, Family & Children’s Place will document how the iPads provided by the grant benefit the child advocacy center’s work, information that will be included in an electronic scrapbook compiled by Ronald McDonald Charities of Kentuckiana.

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About Family & Children’s Place
Family & Children’s Place protects Kentuckiana children, families and communities from abuse, neglect and exploitation, and helps move them from hurting to healing.  We serve nearly 5,000 children and families annually through trauma-informed and impact-evident services.  For more information about Family and Children’s Place, visit www.famchildplace.org or call 502-893-3900.