By MICHELLE MULLINS | Chicago Tribune
January 6, 2023
The Will County Children’s Advocacy Center will move from its 7,000-square-foot facility in downtown Joliet to a 27,000-square-foot day care center in Crest Hill that is expected to serve its growing needs for decades.
The county plans to buy the TLC Learning Center, 1206 Cedarwood Drive, Crest Hill, which sits on about 1 1/4 acre of land, for $3.4 million this month.
The day care was built in 2008 with children in mind, and several county officials said the building is perfect for the Children’s Advocacy Center, which serves children who have been victims of sexual or physical abuse, exploitation, neglect or violence.
The Crest Hill location will allow expansion of offerings to address elder abuse, said Will County State’s Attorney James Glasgow, who started the center in 1995.
This will be the fifth location for the advocacy center, which started with monetary grants from St. Joseph’s Hospital and the Department of Children and Family Services, and received a 3,000-square-foot suite in Silver Cross Hospital rent-free.
The Crest Hill location, which is expected to need minimal renovations, should serve the county for 50 years or more, Glasgow said.
It has a fenced area for therapy dogs, playgrounds, adequate parking, is located in a quiet area and includes plenty of space to conduct private, sensitive interviews. The building is also compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act and licensed by DCFS, the county’s executive office said.
“It’s literally a gift from God,” Glasgow said. “This center will be simply phenomenal.”
County board Chair Judy Ogalla said the purchase is a great win for the advocacy center.
“It’s not very often you find exactly what you are looking for,” said Ogalla, a Republican from Monee. “It’s absolutely perfect.”
In the fall, former county board member Mike Fricilone was talking to a real estate agent regarding a separate county zoning case. Fricilone, who was an advocacy center board member, asked if she knew of any land someone would donate for a new facility.
The Realtor responded she knew of a perfect building the county could buy, said Fricilone, the former Republican minority leader from Homer Glen, and plans were quickly set in motion.
When touring the building, county officials said it was unbelievable, and the county board voted in November to approve $5 million in its budget for the purchase and renovations.
“It’s just a great acquisition,” Fricilone said.
The existing Will County Children’s Advocacy Center, 304 N. Scott St., is off a busy road in downtown Joliet.
The Children’s Advocacy Center served 985 children in 2022 from throughout Will County, said executive director Lisa Morel Las. Of those children, 694 were newly referred while others were still undergoing trauma therapy treatment, Morel Las said.
With the exception of 2020, when COVID-19 caused lockdowns, the number of cases seen at the center has risen yearly, she said.
Because schools were closed and activities, sports and scouts were halted during the early months of the pandemic, children who were being abused did not have trusted friends, adults, teachers or social workers they could turn to, Morel Las said. School social workers often report possible abuses cases to the center, she said.
The advocacy center is described as a child-focused facility, in which police officers, prosecutors, advocates from children protection services and therapists all work together to get a child the help they need and best prosecute the offender.
The child can tell their story to a single trained forensic interviewer who asks questions that will not traumatize the child again, and the team of experts makes decisions together how best to help the child.
If a child is interviewed improperly, the evidence could be inadmissible in court, Glasgow said. The forensic interviewers obtain the children’s statements in a neutral, nonsuggestive way.
“Our staff is one of the best in the state of Illinois,” Glasgow said. “Their passion and dedication is second to none.”
Before the center opened, children who suffered sexual abuse were required to make multiple statements to police, welfare workers and medical professionals, increasing their trauma and enabling predators to exploit minor differences in their statements, officials said.
Children who are victimized and receive services are less likely to abuse drugs or alcohol, grow up to be victims of domestic violence, become involved in criminal activity, suffer from depression, anxiety or post-traumatic stress disorder or commit suicide, according to the advocacy center.
Glasgow said he successfully prosecuted a criminal sexual assault case of an 8-year-old girl in 1986. It was the days before the Children’s Advocacy Center and the girl didn’t have access to the counseling she needed. He later learned she was involved with an abusive boyfriend in her teens, he said.
In 1992, he campaigned on a promise to open an advocacy center in Will County.
The center is funded by local, state and federal grants and the annual Men Who Cook fundraiser. The county board recently allocated $500,000 from its tax on cannabis to the center. Individuals can also make donations on the advocacy center’s website, www.willcountycac.org.
Morel Las said the building will allow for two forensic interview rooms, where the Joliet building has only one. The goal is to have children seen within 48 hours of receiving a report of their abuse.
Will County Executive Jennifer Bertino-Tarrant said the facility provides an appropriate environment.
“This property was a good opportunity to provide adequate space for this critical service,” she said. “I look forward to working with the CAC leadership on the next steps for this relocation.”