PLATTSBURGH -- The new child-advocacy center for victims of abuse is quickly evolving from a dream to reality.

Especially after a near $150,000 state grant was recently secured to help bolster the start-up efforts for the Community Team Responding and Advocating for Kids, or CTRAK, a center to help alleviate stress on children and teens as they go through the legal process of reporting sexual abuse.

ALLEVIATING TRAUMA

After victims report being abused, they are often subjected to multiple interviews with professionals, something Clinton County Chief Assistant District Attorney Kristy Sprague said can be extremely traumatic for young children and teens who are already in a great deal of distress.

Sprague said the new center will not only make the child's experience with authorities less traumatic, it will strengthen criminal cases by bringing law-enforcement, prosecutors and social-services officials together for earlier collaboration and case review.

"We'll all be part of one big team, and having a child-friendly atmosphere will help alleviate the trauma on the child," said Sprague, who spent several months researching the center and writing grant proposals. Sprague's efforsts have already brought in about $55,000 in federal funding.

FUNDING NEEDED

She said the recent startup grant from the Office of Child and Family Services totaled $149,665 and will help provide a director's salary and pay for a victim's advocate and mental-health counselor, both of whom will work on a contractual basis.

The grant will also go toward renovating the Arizona Avenue building that was donated for the site of CTRAK and will be the first of its kind in the tri-county area. It will also provide immediate counseling services for victims and their non-offending family members.

Sprague said the three grants have provided a huge head-start on getting the center ready and remodeled with new paint, bathroom fixtures and plumbing repairs.

"We'll have the money there to do some really nice things," she said.

GETTING READY

The exact renovations are still being decided, and Sprague said she is waiting to get a contractor's opinion.

"Most of it I think we can do with our volunteers, but it would be nice to get a contractor in there just to look it over. Anyone who has construction expertise would also be a great help."

Sprague said she has already received countless phone calls from area residents interested in volunteering and supporting the center.