The article about Bill Legere (June 3) talks about creating a child advocacy center in Lewiston-Auburn that would provide comprehensive services under one roof, stating “there are no comprehensive centers like that in Maine.”

In fact, Maine has two Children’s Advocacy Centers — one in Waterville (serving Kennebec and Somerset counties) and one right here in Lewiston (serving Androscoggin, Oxford and Franklin counties).

At both of these CACs, children who have disclosed sexual abuse are interviewed by specially trained forensic interviewers in a child-friendly environment, while people who need that information (law enforcement, DHHS) watch via closed-circuit television. That reduces the need for duplicate interviews, and minimizes the trauma a child experiences when talking about the abuse.

During those interviews, the parent or caregiver meets with a family advocate for support and information and to identify and access additional resources.

These CACs have a wide network of community resources for the child and family, including medical care and assessment, mental health services, and sexual assault advocates to provide support through the legal system.

Lewiston’s CAC has 17 community partners who have worked together since 2005 to improve system response to abused children. That multidisciplinary team is now working with Bill Legere and others to investigate the opportunity to create a center where all those services can be offered at one site.

I applaud the community effort to continue to support the growth and development of CACs in Maine.

Marty McIntyre, executive director,

Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Services