How You Can Help

Want to make a difference in someone's life when it matters most?

We are looking for applicants who represent the diverse demographics of the clients we support. Individuals of all ethnicities, gender identities and sexual orientations are encouraged to apply.

We are currently seeking.

CYAC Advocate

The Child and Youth Advocate is responsible for supporting and empowering children and youth by addressing their needs and concerns. This role involves working closely with young individuals, their families, and community organizations to ensure their well-being and development. The advocate will provide direct services, such as counseling and case management, and will work to raise awareness and mobilize community support for issues affecting young people. For more information please review the PDF document below and apply.

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How a CYAC Functions

A Child Advocacy Centre/Child and Youth Advocacy Centre is a collaboration between law enforcement, child protection, medical and mental health professionals, and victim advocates in a child-friendly facility where children, youth, and their families can receive an individualized response and services after the occurrence of child abuse. Services provided include prevention, intervention, prosecution, treatment and support for victims and their families.

CACs/CYACs bring together a multi-disciplinary team (MDT) to provide a coordinated and comprehensive response to address the needs of children, youth, and their families in cases where abuse is suspected. CACs/CYACs seek to minimize system-induced trauma and support longer-term well-being by providing a child-friendly facility for young victims and their families to seek services, ideally under one roof.

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The Impact of CYAC's

While CYAC's across Canada and beyond are continuing to develop best practices, the positive impact of CYAC's and more coordinated teams has been sustained and well documented. Namely, a summary of research conducted on the Social Value of Boost CYAC over the past 8 years has found that CYAC's have effectively reduced emotional, financial and physical hardship on children and youth who are abused, increased access to services through various means which include but are not limited to:

• Increased number of timely referrals
• Expedited delivery of care to those with most urgent needs
• Longer engagement with clients to identify additional services needs as they develop

Other positive outcomes included an increased capacity of partner agencies through, more comprehensive consultations, both times and costs savings and increased professional development. In the 950 CYAC's that exist worldwide, 380,494 children have been helped by them in the previous year alone and 1,598.005 people have been equipped through training in child abuse prevention by CYAC experts (National Children's Alliance, 2023). These findings affirm the ways in which CYAC's have the capacity to improve the quality of life for children in Durham Region.