Opinion

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News / Opinion / Columns

Donnelly: Children’s Justice Center must retain support

By Ann Donnelly

Published: November 2, 2024, 6:01am

Clark County’s Children’s Justice Center, which advocates for abused children in the justice system and prosecutes perpetrators, is facing a serious budget shortfall. At the heart of the crisis are overwhelming caseloads and budget shortfalls of the organization’s two major sources of funds, the city of Vancouver and Clark County.

A flashpoint now is the city staff’s Oct. 23 designation as “not recommended” for $283,000 needed to retain several essential Children’s Justice Center child advocates and a forensic interviewer.

Given its unique contribution to public safety, the Children’s Justice Center merits consistent support.

In 1985, a district attorney and former congressman in Alabama, Robert E. Cramer, concluded that abused children require special protection in the criminal justice system. He founded the nation’s first Children’s Advocacy Center, and the movement he pioneered spread around the country.

Five years later, the founding of Clark County’s Children’s Justice Center was spearheaded by longtime county prosecutor Art Curtis. He was then widely known for his successful prosecution and execution of child molester/killer Westley Allen Dodd. The Children’s Justice Center, now officially named the Arthur D. Curtis Children’s Justice Center, is among some two dozen Children’s Advocacy Centers in Washington.

Historian Pat Jollota, then a city council member, was also pivotal to the Children’s Justice Center’s founding. Jollota has long chaired Friends of CJC, a support group of which I am a member.

Entering the Children’s Justice Center’s secure facility, a visitor is reminded of the vulnerability of the victims: childish artwork in the hallways, tiny chairs in the interview rooms, colorful blankets and stuffed animals. Cases involve sexual abuse, neglect, trafficking, torture, violence, exposure to drugs. The youngest-ever victim was just 3 months old.

The staff includes trained advocates, detectives, prosecutors, city and county law enforcement, and experts from Children’s Center, Family Solutions, and Washington’s Department of Children, Youth & Families. They work some 700 cases a month, averaging 230 cases for the three victim advocates, a workload 10 times the industry standard.

The Children’s Justice Center budget for 2024 is a thrifty $1.423 million, not including funds for law enforcement investigators, prosecuting attorneys or their support staff. A loss of $283,000 for next year would set a dangerous precedent.

Because it involves underage victims, the work of the Children’s Justice Center is necessarily hidden from public appreciation. But attendees at Windermere Realty’s Sept. 14 fundraiser, an annual event since 2013, met the staff and heard about their work.

Event speaker Laurel Smith, the Children’s Justice Center’s lead child abuse prosecutor, described the organization’s contributions to the prosecution and eventual conviction of Vancouver parents who starved and horrifically abused three adopted brothers. The abuse ultimately ended with the death of one of the boys.

The city and county share funding based on the number of cases each entity refers to the Children’s Justice Center. Over the last three years, city cases have outnumbered county cases by 2,355 to 1,497. So, the city financial staff’s “not recommended” designation for funding is ominous.

On Oct. 23, City Council member Ty Stober directed city staff to “look for money” to support the Children’s Justice Center. It is hoped that Stober’s leadership will guide a reinstatement of funding prior to a public hearing and final budget vote on Nov. 18.

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