Center Partners With Police When it Comes to Helping Kids Cope With Tragedy
By: Tyler Thomason
Updated: March 5, 2013
"Shock. Confusion. Loss."
Just a few emotions that counselors like Megan Taylor encounter at the Children's Advocacy Center of Benton County.
"We try to take each child and work with them individually based on their needs and how they're responding," Taylor says.
Helping kids cope with tragedy.
By way of board games, painting pictures or simply sitting in silence.
"Anything just to kind of just make them feel comfortable," Taylor says.
"I think law enforcement can kind of play that role also. We've partnered with a lot of them to where they want to use our center."
With traumatic cases involving crime, interviews can take place in an interview room with just the child and the counselor.
The only other eyes come from above, where a camera records and plays the interview back, live, in a separate room for investigators to observe.
"We give each child an opportunity to share their story," Taylor says.
"Nobody's going to over-question them, nobody's going to judge them."
Licensed professionals allowing kids to process tragic experiences at their own pace.
"And that may look different for, say, a 5 or 6 year old as opposed to a 15 or 16 year old," Taylor adds.
But no matter the age, the center's goal remains the same.
"Hopefully it makes a difference in the lives for each child that comes through here as they go forward," Taylor says.
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