Utah Children's Justice Center

The Children's Justice Center in Davis County, Utah.

The Utah Children's Justice Center is a program of the Utah Attorney General's Office which operates 22 centers on the state of Utah. These centers coordinate investigation and prosecution of child abuse, especially child sexual abuse. They were created to provide a child friendly environment for interviews and exams of child victims as well as to provide support and centralized resource referrals to victim's families.

Services

Prior to the creation of the Utah CJC's, investigation of child abuse may have required a child victim to be interviewed by police, social services, medical personnel, psychologists and prosecutors. The primary function of the CJC is to provide a facility where children can feel more comfortable and receive coordinated services as part of the investigative process. The interviews are completed in a home-like setting by law enforcement and/or social service investigators. The interview is recorded so representatives from all involved agencies are able to use the interview in their investigation.^[1]

The children's justice center provides many secondary services. These include:^[1]

• Medical forensic exams on-site at some centers
• Tracking and monitoring of cases through the criminal justice system
• Collaboration of resources among agencies involved in the investigation
• Community education presentations
• Referrals for mental health and other services

Locations

Utah has 22 justice centers where child victims can be interviewed in a safe child-friendly environment. The centers help coordinate investigation and prosecution of child sex abuse cases. They also provide referral services to victims' families.^[2]

Notes

External links

• Children's Justice Centers, at AttorneyGeneral.Utah.gov
• Iron County Children's Justice Center
• Utah County Children's Justice Center
• Weber/Morgan Counties Children's Justice Center