Here’s why a center helping abused children in Sedgwick County is seeking a $12.8M expansion

Fewer reports of child abuse may sound like a positive, but that wasn’t the case in 2020 when almost 23% fewer reports were lodged through the Child Advocacy Center of Sedgwick County’s abuse hotline.

“When children don’t have their normal backup protected people that they can talk to — whether that be school personnel or healthcare providers, daycare providers — that always brings in a level of concern for children’s safety,” said Diana Schunn, CEO of the nonprofit advocacy center, which provides mental health treatment and case-coordinating services free of charge to survivors of child abuse and their non-offending caregivers.

As COVID-19 stay-at-home orders ended and vulnerable children reconnected with their support systems, the CAC saw an influx of more than 1,000 clients. Cases of maltreatment had also become more severe, Schunn said.

“We’re finding that we’ve just really seen an increased need, particularly in our mental health services,” she said.

To meet the demand, the CAC launched a $12.8 million fundraising campaign to build a 37,400-square-foot expansion onto its south Topeka facility.

If the Wichita City Council votes Tuesday to award $2 million in American Rescue Plan Act funding to the project, the CAC will be up to $6.4 million in contributions. The Sedgwick County Commission dedicated $2 million in December.

“The upward trend in numbers of clients, combined with the need for more staff and space to accommodate the growth in needs is directly related to the COVID-19 pandemic, and will continue for years,” a city staff report states.

The expansion would create space for more private family rooms, individual therapy offices, group therapy spaces and the addition of forensic interview rooms to be used by law enforcement investigating crimes against children.

The Exploited and Missing Child Unit, a three-way partnership between Wichita police, the Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office and the Department of Children and Families, is already housed in the CAC facility, as is the Internet Crimes Against Children Unit, another partnership between WPD, the sheriff’s office and the Department of Homeland Security. The Sedgwick County District Attorney’s Office and the University of Kansas Medical Center also have space in the building.

“[The expansion] only enhances and helps strengthen the investigation process and the enhancement of the services that we can offer to children and families,” Schunn said.

She said the CAC hopes to raise the rest of the money needed to support the expansion through a combination of private and corporate fundraising and additional grant money.