Detective. Catherine Parker, Lesley Barbiaux (not pictured), Jaclyn Roberts, David Brown, “Santa” Dean Higgenbotham, Ashley Andary
At their annual Child Protection Team (CPT) Appreciation Luncheon on December 2, the Williamson County Children’s Advocacy Center (WCCAC) recognized six outstanding members, voted Most Valuable Players (MVPs) by their peers. There are about 100 active team members who work together in protecting children, including representatives from law enforcement, Child Protective Services (CPS), prosecution, victim services, the WCCAC, and medical and mental health, with 40-50 in attendance at any given monthly meeting for staffing specific cases.
Detective Catherine Parker of the Hutto Police Department was voted Law Enforcement MVP. Two CPS MVPs were named: Lesley Barbiaux (not pictured) of Unit 23 in Round Rock and Jaclyn Roberts of Unit 6, also of Round Rock. David Brown was voted Prosecution MVP, representing the County Attorney’s Office here in Williamson County. You may recognize Santa in this photo; in his day job, he is Program Director for the Victim Assistance Unit of the Williamson County Sheriff’s Office, operating under the alias of Dean Higgenbotham. Ashley Andary of the WCCAC was honored as overall team MVP.
In FY2016, the Williamson County Children’s Advocacy Center forensically interviewed 638 suspected victims of child abuse; performed medical exams for 47 children; provided 3797 sessions of therapy for 174 clients, including child victims and their care-givers; provided family advocacy for 326 families; and taught 3935 child care and youth advocate professionals in 119 trainings.
Congratulations to these fine team members and the agencies they represent. Well done!
Williamson County Children’s Advocacy Center (WCCAC) is a non-profit organization that provides needed assistance to abused children, non-offending family members, and the professionals dedicated to the intervention, investigation, prosecution, and treatment options related to child abuse cases.
Their goal is to minimize trauma and reduce re-victimization to child victims of abuse. This goal is accomplished by providing a multidisciplinary response to allegations of child abuse in a professional and child-sensitive manner and by video recording interviews to reduce the number of times a child victim has to retell their abuse to multiple persons.
The Center offers all services free of charge thanks to grant assistance, individual and business financial donations, community support, and gifts-in- kind.
