Will County Children’s Advocacy Center receives $75,00 federal grant to expand resources for victims of child trafficking, child pornography

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May 24

JOLIET – Will County State’s Attorney James Glasgow is pleased to announce that the Will County Children’s Advocacy Center has been awarded a $75,000 federal grant to expand resources for the victims of child pornography and child sex trafficking.

The Will County Children’s Advocacy Center, established by State’s Attorney Glasgow in1995, was one of 34 CAC’s across the nation to receive a grant from the National Children’s Alliance to expand resources and services.

The grant will fund initiatives to enhance the countywide response to child sexual exploitation by creating a local Child Pornography and Exploitation Coalition; expanding law enforcement’s accessibility to the Children’s Advocacy Center and its services; and developing a public service campaign to raise awareness about child sexual exploitation.

In addition, the grant will fund the hiring of a specially trained child sexual exploitation and advocacy coordinator to handle these cases. And it will enable the center to create a specialized mentoring program that provides support and guidance to the victims in child pornography cases.

State’s Attorney Glasgow and the Children’s Advocacy Center already are partnering with the Plainfield Junior Women’s Club to coordinate a public awareness about child sex trafficking in our region. 

“This federal grant will provide additional funding to dramatically expand the critical services the Will County Children’s Advocacy Center provides,” State’s Attorney Glasgow said. “Our goal is always to provide hope, healing, and justice for sexually abused children.”

State’s Attorney Glasgow established the Will County Children’s Advocacy Center as a 501-(c)-3 charitable organization in 1995 to vastly improve investigations into cases involving the sexual abuse of children.

Today, when children make outcries of sexual abuse, they are brought to the center, where trained and compassionate forensic interviewers obtain accurate statements in a neutral, non-suggestive and child-friendly environment. Interviews recorded at the Children’s Advocacy Center have been used in the successful prosecution of thousands of child predators over the last two decades.