Prevent Child Abuse Rowan and the Terrie Hess House Child Advocacy Center received accreditation from National Children’s Alliance.

The accreditation was awarded following an extensive application and site review process. National Children’s Alliance is the accrediting agency for children’s advocacy centers across the country. Accreditation is the highest level of membership with National Children’s Alliance and denotes excellence in service provision, a statement said.

“Accreditation not only validates our organization’s proven effective approach to responding to allegations of child abuse, but also provides consistency across the child advocacy center movement as a whole”, said Karen Barbee, interim executive director of Prevent Child Abuse Rowan and the Terrie Hess House.

The mission of Prevent Child Abuse Rowan is to stop child abuse in Rowan County through education, intervention and support.

The Terrie Hess House was founded in 2005 to serve the children of Rowan and surrounding areas and has served more than 500 children since it opened.

National Children’s Alliance awards accredited membership based on a center’s compliance with 10 national standards of accreditation. National Children’s Alliance considers standards regarding a center’s cultural competency and diversity, forensic interviews, victim support and advocacy, medical evaluation, therapeutic intervention and child focused setting.

“We do what we do because of the children we serve. As an organization of individuals dedicated to responding to child abuse, we recognize the importance of accreditation from National Children’s Alliance and supporting the multidisciplinary team approach,” Barbee said.

Teresa Huizar, executive director of National Children’s Alliance, commended Prevent Child Abuse Rowan and the Terrie Hess House for its, “excellent work serving victims of child abuse.”

“As the national association and accrediting body for Children’s Advocacy Centers across the country, our goal is to ensure that every victim of child abuse has access to high quality services that result from professional collaboration,” Huizar said.

National Children’s Alliance is the national association and accrediting body for more than 750 children’s advocacy centers nationwide. National Children’s Alliance provides support and advocacy to its accredited membership.

As the national authority on multidisciplinary approaches to supporting child victims of abuse, the purpose of National Children’s Alliance is to empower local communities to provide comprehensive, coordinated and compassionate services to victims of child abuse.

National Children’s Alliance provides accreditation opportunities, financial assistance, research and education to communities, child abuse professionals and children’s advocacy centers throughout the United States in support of child abuse intervention, advocacy and prevention.

For more information about Prevent Child Abuse Rowan and the Terrie Hess House, visit www.preventchildabuserowan.org. For more information about National Children’s Alliance visit www.nationalchildrensalliance.org.