The fledgling child advocacy center slated for Selma took a giant step forward this past week.

Susan Keith, who’s been spearheading the project,

reported that she received

notification from IRS that the organization has just

received its 501(c)3 status. That means the organization can begin fund raising in a serious way, said Keith, who is community

justice coordinator in the district attorney’s office.

“Until we got the IRS letter we were stymied. We could not move forward. Now we can,” she said in a recent interview.

The proposed center will serve Dallas, Perry and Wilcox counties, she said.

Keith is passionate about abused children. “The system has failed particular (abused) children badly,” she said. “I can’t tell you how many horror stories I’ve heard of children physically

and psychologically injured and sexually abused.”

“I’ve worked for more than 20 years in prosecutors offices, here and in Nashville, as a victims’ advocate,” she said.

The basic idea of the child advocacy center is to provide one place where a child who has been a victim of any kind of abuse – frequently sexual – can come into a safe environment and tell his or her story to a team of people, each of whom is needed to take immediate and effective action on the child’s behalf.

Keith said that right now such a victim may experience delays

and then have to tell the same story to several people representing the law enforcement, medical and mental health disciplines.

What the new child advocacy center will offer is a multidisciplinary approach, she said.

“The idea’s been around for a long time,” she said, “and a lot of people want it, but this is the first time anyone has had the time to put into the project to bring it to fruition.”

Keith first experience of such a multidisciplinary

approach was

in Nashville, where she worked in the district attorney’s office in child protective services.

“That program was one of the pioneer efforts of this type in the nation,” she said.

“Those involved in the Nashville program included representatives of the schools, the medical community, mental health, law enforcement and prosecutors.”

In Selma, Keith is pleased with the progress of the center.

“We are right where we need to be organizationally,” she said. “We have a five-member board with (District Attorney) Ed Greene as chair and we are incorporated under the laws of the state of Alabama. And now we have the tax-exempt status with IRS that will enable us to raise funds.”

Keith added that the center’s steering committee has some of the most competent people in several disciplines.

“We had our first meeting in December and the next one is scheduled for September,” She said.

“I was so excited when I saw who showed up for the first meeting of the steering committee. We couldn’t ask for a finer group of representatives in the disciplines needed for success.”

She described the caliber of the group as “awesome.”

“We plan to go now to the Alabama Network of Children’s Advocacy Centers, which is the umbrella organization for the state’s child advocacy programs, and then to make applications for grants from various foundations,” she said. “Having the endorsement of the Alabama network

is like having the ‘Good Housekeeping Seal’ as far as child advocacy programs go.

“Another thing is that we have to raise money to get money. Most foundations require matching funds, and we have to raise that locally. So I am sending out letters now to a number of nonprofit groups and organizations in the community seeking funds as soon as possible to enable us to have the local match,” she said.

Additionally, Keith said it is necessary to have a physical location to get funding, so she and a committee of the steering committee are already seeking a suitable site.

“It has to be a workable building,” she said. “It has to meet code requirements.”

There are also some staff requirements to fill.

“As far as staff goes, we will need an executive director, a therapist, someone trained in forensics (interviewing and investigation), a court advocate and an administrator. We will also need a prosecutor, an attorney-not only with experience in this area of the law, but one who has a heart about it,” she said. “This is not a stepping-stone job for an attorney. It requires someone who has a true passion for the cause.”

Such a multidisciplinary approach and staff, Keith said, will be of such quality to inspire immediate trust with children and young people who have been abused.

Children can be so traumatized by abuse that without such a setting they may not be able to describe what happened to them, she said.

Keith has long had an interest in advocacy efforts for abused women and children. She helped organized the SABRA Sanctuary.

The child advocacy center and SABRA will be partners, Keith said. They will not compete, noting that Nancy Travis, SABRA’s director, is involved on the steering committee for the new child advocacy center.

Keith said that the steering committee has committees on protocol (program and procedures), site, fund raising, personnel, public relations and legislation (monitoring).

Keith praised District Attorney Ed Greene for his strong support of the program.

“Under his (Greene’s) direction we initiated the child advocacy center,” she said. “Without him it would not have been possible.”

Keith emphasized that the program was not ready to receive applications for staff positions.

“Right now, all the emphasis is on raising funds as quickly as possible,” she said.

For information, contact Keith at (334) 876-4876.