Bivona Child Advocacy Center

Causes: Child Abuse Prevention, Crime & Law, Domestic Violence

Mission: Bivona child advocacy center delivers excellence in child abuse response, healing and prevention through collaborative service, awareness, education and leadership.

Programs: Bivona child advocacy center (the organization) is a not-for-profit organization that offers a safe, welcoming place where children who have been sexually or physically abused can begin their journey of healing. The organziation facilitates a multidisciplinary team of professionals that includes 22 partner agencies and provides the physical space where cases of child sexual and severe physical abuse, whenever possible and practical, are investigated, evaluated and treated. (continued on schedule o)bivona also leads the monroe county child fatality review team which evaluates all sudden, unexplained, or unexpected child fatalities. In 2017 alone, the organization evaluated nearly 2,000 children. Additionally, bivona is dedicated to increasing community awareness about child abuse through its hosting of the bivona child abuse summit conference with over 760 area professionals in attendance. Bivona also addresses prevention of child abuse by providing community-based education and outreach programs. In 2012, bivona launched a prevention program in collaboration with the ymca of greater rochester and 10 additional community partners. The goal of the program is to empower responsible adults to understand the devastating effects of child sexual abuse, to recognize the signs and symptoms, and to know how to respond on behalf of a child who may be the victim of abuse. Over 9,000 adults have received the stewards of children prevention curriculum. A notable change to the organization in 2014 was the addition of a victim advocacy program. Bivona hired a case coordinator to lead the efforts of providing support services to children and families. It quickly became clear that the need for victim advocacy was much higher than realized. In 2017, bivona added two victim advocates to the program. The addition of staff has helped ensure that families are receiving necessary support services to help them navigate the process of justice and healing. In 2015, bivona implemented a collaborative effort with local community agencies that serve intellectually and developmentally disabled (i/dd) children. The goal is to address and positively impact the frightening prevalence of i/dd sexual abuse here in our community.