The Children's Assessment Center Foundation
Protect children, heal families, prevent child sexual abuse
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
1 in 10 children will be sexually abused before their 18th birthday. Of those children, only 40% will disclose their abuse. The Children's Assessment Center is the only children's advocacy center in Harris County and one of the largest in the nation. We treat, heal, and prevent child sexual abuse. We provide forensic interviews, family advocacy, medical services, and therapy to child victims of sexual abuse and their families for free. We are also dedicated to increasing awareness about child abuse and providing prevention training to over 15,000 community members each year.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Forensic Services
The Forensic Services Department provides specialized forensic interviews and extended forensic evaluations in a child-friendly environment to support the investigation of child sexual abuse. Forensic Interviews are digitally recorded, allowing all professionals involved in a case to simultaneously view both live and recorded interviews, rather than subjecting a child to repeated interviews.
Mental Health Services
The CAC offers a variety of services ranging from crisis intervention, psychological evaluations, and group and individual therapy. These services are offered to child victims, siblings, and non-offending caregivers. Therapy teaches children that they are not alone, helps them understand that the abuse is the responsibility of the offender, and ultimately provides a healthy, guilt-free way to avoid long-term trauma.
Medical Clinic
Baylor College of Medicine and Texas Children's Hospital provide skilled physicians to work in our on-site clinic. They deliver sexual assault exams and unimpeachable expert testimony needed in court.
Prevention Training
The Children’s Assessment Center works to protect children by increasing awareness in the community about child sexual abuse. The CAC’s training and outreach programs are designed to help families, community members, and professionals that work with children identify the signs and symptoms of sexual abuse and equip them with the necessary knowledge to protect children.
Family Advoacacy
Family Advocates provide families with an orientation of The CAC, to explain the investigative processes, coordinate victim services, and to educate families on the dynamics of child sexual abuse.
Community Outreach
The CAC strives to increase public awareness of child sexual abuse through Outreach and Prevention. In order to prevent child abuse in our community, each of us must educate ourselves about abuse and make a personal commitment to stand up for children. We must do this as individuals, organizations, and, ultimately, as a community.
Where we work
Awards
LeaderSpring Mentor Award in recognition of your commitment to Innovation, Excellence and Exchange of Knowledge 2008
LeaderSpring
Team Excellence Awards for Law Enforcement and Forensic Interviewing 2010
Children's Advocacy Centers of Texas
Halliburton Hometown Hero Award presented to CAC Playroom Volunteer 2011
Halliburton
Top 100 Workplaces 2012
Houston Chronicle
Top 100 Workplaces 2013
Houston Chronicle
Affiliations & memberships
National Children's Alliance - Full Member 1997
Children's Advocacy Centers of Texas 1998
External reviews

Photos
Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Evaluation documents
Download evaluation reportsNumber of groups brought together in a coalition/alliance/partnership
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Children and youth, Families
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
We employ an extraordinarily effective multidisciplinary team approach in the prevention, assessment, investigation, referral for prosecution, and treatment of child sexual abuse.
Number of mental health services provided to children
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Children and youth, Caregivers, Families
Related Program
Mental Health Services
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
The CAC offers a variety of services ranging from crisis intervention and psychological evaluations to group, family, and individual therapy of child victims, siblings and non-offending caregivers.
Number of forensic services provided to children
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Children and youth
Related Program
Forensic Services
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
The overall goal of the Forensic Services Division is to minimize the trauma to children by reducing the number of times a child is interviewed during the investigation of child sexual abuse.
Number of individuals attending community events or trainings
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Adults, Parents, Academics
Related Program
Prevention Training
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
The CAC strives to increase public awareness of child sexual abuse through Outreach and Prevention.
Number of children receiving medical services
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Children and youth
Related Program
Medical Clinic
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
A medical exam is offered to any child who has allegations or concerns of abuse. The purpose of the medical evaluation is to assess the well-being, health, and safety of the child.
Number of families served by Family Advocates
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Families
Related Program
Family Advoacacy
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
Family advocates encourage participation in the investigation, treatment, and support services available to children and families with the hope of reducing trauma for children and their family.
Goals & Strategy
Reports and documents
Download strategic planLearn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
The Children's Assessment Center (CAC) provides a safe haven to sexually abused children and their families - a place where they can receive the kind of care and treatment they so richly deserve.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
Our mission is accomplished through:
1) digitally recorded forensic interviews of children's statements reducing the need for multiple interviews by the various entities involved in a child sexual abuse case
2) sexual abuse and assault examinations using digital colposcopy, a non-invasive procedure conducted by trained pediatricians
3) therapy and psychological services to help child sexual abuse victims and their families heal
4) expert testimony in civil and criminal court cases
5) advocacy for children and families
6) community outreach and training to heighten awareness and prevention of child sexual abuse.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
The CAC is Harris County's only children's advocacy center serving sexually abused children and their families. We are able to accomplish our goals with the help of our 57 partner agencies, including law enforcement, medical clinic personnel, psychological/psychiatric services, and governmental investigative entities, all with the common purpose of protecting children.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
The CAC has and continues to provide treatment and healing to sexually abused children for over 20 years. It is estimated that 1 in 10 children will be sexually abused by their 18th birthday and The CAC wants to expand our outreach efforts to better educate and train parents, teachers, counselors, nurses, and other first responders on the signs and symptoms of sexual abuse. Together, let's look forward to a healthy and happy community filled with children with childhood dreams... dreams that are not interrupted by abuse.
How we listen
Seeking feedback from people served makes programs more responsive and effective. Here’s how this organization is listening.
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Who are the people you serve with your mission?
We serve about 5,000 child sexual abuse victims and their family each year. We also provide outreach and prevention training to over 18,500 Harris County community members each year.
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How is your organization using feedback from the people you serve?
To identify and remedy poor client service experiences, To identify bright spots and enhance positive service experiences, To make fundamental changes to our programs and/or operations, To inform the development of new programs/projects, To identify where we are less inclusive or equitable across demographic groups, To understand people's needs and how we can help them achieve their goals
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Which of the following feedback practices does your organization routinely carry out?
We collect feedback from the people we serve at least annually, We take steps to get feedback from marginalized or under-represented people, We aim to collect feedback from as many people we serve as possible, We take steps to ensure people feel comfortable being honest with us, We look for patterns in feedback based on demographics (e.g., race, age, gender, etc.), We look for patterns in feedback based on people’s interactions with us (e.g., site, frequency of service, etc.), We act on the feedback we receive
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What challenges does the organization face when collecting feedback?
It is difficult to get the people we serve to respond to requests for feedback
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
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Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
The Children's Assessment Center Foundation
Board of directorsas of 10/10/2022
Mrs. Kathy Wells
Paul Bragg
Brady Crosswell
Grey Fox Funding LLC
Christopher DeClaire
Ursaline Hamilton
Gail Prather
Prather Kalman, PC
Anthony Gibson
The Reyna Realty Group
Mark Anderson
RSM US LLP
Angie Chen
Rice University
Sara Downey
At Home Tutoring Services
Jason Lacher
Jaguar/Land Rover Houston Central
Philip Miller
PricewaterhoustCoopers LLP
Lori Swann
Cunningham Capital
Yvette Webb
Frost Bank
Jeff Vaden
Bracewell LLP
Kathy Wells
Rhonda Graff
Marian Harper
Astros Foundation
Kelley Lubanko
David Key
Lily Schnitzer
Longoria Collection
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? No -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? No
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
No data
Gender identity
Sexual orientation
No data
Disability
No data