SAN ANTONIO — Most people working within the Texas Child Welfare System admit that there are faults within the system, but say there are many positive happenings too.
Many of those things happen within the Children's Alliance Of South Texas. They help provide safe spaces at three office locations between Floresville, Pleasanton and Cotulla for any child’s first forensic interview after being removed from home environments due to abuse and neglect. 81st Judicial District Attorney Audrey Louis works with them while representing Atascosa, Wilson, Frio, Karnes and LaSalle Counties
"For me as District Attorney it is important to me to have that critical evidence from the child when they disclose in the forensic interview," said Louis. "On the flip side of that we want them to be healing with the counseling and therapy services we provide."
Many of those children are then placed subsequently placed into kinship and or foster care after being removed. The mission being with the Alliance to create environments where kids feel much more safe to talk about what’s happened to them compared to the walls of any law enforcement interrogation room. The three child advocacy centers can be an important first step for children who have suffered traumatic events to then take their next steps and being the healing process.
We also spoke with Alliance Executive Director, Kasey Brown.
"Getting to watch them walk through that healing process through the therapy that we provide, which is very specific, it is trauma based," she said. "To see them in eight months be in that place of healing where we've taken away that shame, blame and guilt that they had put on themselves related to what had happened to them."
"That really is part of our goal is to try and bring them some consistency in this inconsistent world for them," said DA Louis. "We want to be there. We want to have consistent therapy provided for them throughout so that they know they have a familiar face, someone who knows, someone who cares and someone who understands."
Kasey told us people often as her how she can deal with the emotions of having the job that she has. Her answer is someone with the social work call to service.
"To watch children be a part of every program that we have from forensic interviewing to family advocacy, all of them get to have a hand in that," she said.
"Every day is a positive day because you are helping children," said Louis. "You are taking perpetrators off the street protecting kids that could also be future victims."
"Getting to know that we have just that little part of helping them heal and not suffer the effects of the trauma that has been done to them without it being their fault or anything related to what they have done is just great to watch," said Brown.