(Washington, DC) - Mayor Adrian M. Fenty on Thursday joined community leaders, child abuse prevention advocates and local and federal officials for a ribbon-cutting ceremony to mark the opening of the $10 million Safe Shores Child Advocacy Center at the former Bundy School in Northwest.
“We’re doing everything we can to fight child abuse in the nation’s capitol,” said Mayor Fenty. “This project is a national best practice in that for the first time we are bringing social workers, heath and mental health providers and law enforcement officials together under the same roof to provide services to victims in the safest, child-friendly environment possible.”
The project is a partnership between the District’s Metropolitan Police Department, Child and Family Services Agency, Office of the Attorney General and the United States Attorney’s Office, Children’s National Medical Center and Safe Shores, a nonprofit organization that serves at the District’s children’s advocacy center.
Located at 429 O Street NW in the former Bundy School, the center will serve more than 850 children per year. About 50 social workers, attorneys and medical providers representing the partner agencies will work in the Safe Shores center providing services to children and youth who were physically or sexually abused or witnesses of to violence.
The facility is designed to provide a safe and welcoming environment for children and adolescents while they wait for forensic interviews, therapy, court appearances and placement resolutions. Staff works to ensure children are provided meals, clean clothes, crisis intervention and other emergency victim services during investigation processes.
The center is not a residential facility. Youth victims and witnesses are brought to the facility by appointment only and the center will operate Monday through Saturday. Upon special request, Safe Shores staff conducts interviews for federal agency criminal investigations involving child-victims. Past federal coordination has included the FBI, State Department, US Capitol Police and US Park Police.
The District’s Department of Real Estate Services managed construction of the project and the District provided about 70 percent of the funding. Safe Shores and its philanthropic partners raised the balance of the funding, including a $600,000 grant from the Justice Department.