Taskforce
members at the third informational meeting of the 4
th Judicial
District Children’s Advocacy Center (CAC) got down to business Tuesday
night. Those in attendance included representatives from Cocke, Jefferson,
Grainger and Sevier Counties. One of the main objectives was to begin
establishing an executive board consisting of at least a chairperson, a
treasurer and a secretary, which is a pre-requisite for the CAC to begin
filing for the needed 501(c)(3) status with the IRS.
Three people
were nominated and accepted appointments to the mandatory posts. Donna
Koester of Sevier County accepted the position of Board Chairperson. Barry Fain
of Jefferson County accepted the position of Board
Treasurer. And, Jennifer Shelton of Cocke County
accepted the position of Board Secretary. Three other persons accepted
positions on the new governing board as well: Connie Ball, Mayor of Newport;
Marian Oates, a longtime child advocate from Sevierville; and Crystal Ratcliff,
a DCS Team Leader in Sevier County.
The meeting
opened with the comments from the special guest speaker, District Attorney
General Al Schmutzer. The General strongly
emphasized to the crowd that his office and he fully support the creation of
the 4th Judicial center to serve child-victims in the four county
district. Schmutzer also emphasized how a
center such as this can assist law enforcement and his office in building
more solid cases, leading to an increased prosecution
rate, as it has in other parts of Tennessee
and the nation.
Detective Sgt.
Perry Moyers of the Knox County Sheriff’s Department Major Crimes Unit
addressed the audience in relation to his experience working with ChildHelp USA,
the advocacy center in Knoxville.
Moyers told the group, “I cannot say enough good things about my
experiences working with the staff of the CAC in Knoxville.”
Moyers emphasized to the group how beneficial it is to have a specially
trained forensic interviewer that can develop the needed rapport with a
child, speaking on the child’s level, which is not a strong-suit for
your average interviewer. Moyers also noted that, “The true
victim of child abuse is a truly innocent victim, the child. If you or
I walk out this door tonight and someone attacks us, we can probably think of something we have done in our
lives to deserve it. But, a child is completely innocent. And, at
no time do they deserve to suffer abuse at anyone’s hand.”
Devin Koester,
a Sevierville attorney, volunteered his services in preparing and filing the
paperwork with the IRS for the 501(c)(3)
status. Additionally, Carolyn Berryhill of Jefferson City volunteered
her expertise and services to make application for grants from government and
private sources to underwrite the center’s operations. Barry Fain
also indicated that he has received an offer from Lucas-Francis Studios of
Dandridge, to conduct a fundraiser and aid in the application of murals to
the children’s areas of the center.
The 4th
Judicial District Children’s Advocacy
Center will serve
child-victims of sexual and/or severe physical abuse in Cocke, Grainger, Jefferson and Sevier Counties.
No location has been determined for the center. The newly appointed
executive board is encouraging any person(s) interested in contributing a
site to contact them to discuss such a donation. To learn more about
this particular center or volunteer your expertise, please contact either
Donna Koester at (865) 453-2638, Barry Fain at
(865) 471-1898, or Crystal Ratcliff at (865) 429-7012. To get more
information on child advocacy centers in general, please visit www.tncac.org.
