ST. GEORGE — Civic leaders, law enforcement officials, friends and staff of the Washington County Children’s Justice Center gathered in St. George Wednesday morning for the groundbreaking of a new building that will house the center’s medical and mental health services.
“Our current building was built with victim advocacy and interviewing in mind,” Kristy Pike, the justice center’s director, said. “We never, at the time, imagined doing medical (examinations) and mental health. We weren’t designed for that.”
The Children’s Justice Center, or CJC, located at 463 E. 500 South, provides a place where children who have experienced abuse of any sort can be interviewed in an environment geared to feel more inviting and open than a police station.
Once inside, the child meets with a forensic interviewer during a session that is also recorded and watched by law enforcement and others in another room. From there the child is referred to medical and mental health services as necessary.
In recent years, the CJC has expanded its mental health services as it has been able to contract with or hire new therapists. Along the way, the garage of the CJC building was remodeled to provide two new mental health therapy rooms.
Tackling the mental trauma experienced by an abuse survivor has become a particular focus as many of the children they interview are found to have high levels of trauma that needs to be addressed in order to help those them heal and move forward.
“If we can address that trauma, it can be a change – a switch that can make a difference in that child’s lifetime,” Pike said.
“Traumatic stress turns into Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder if it’s not treated,” Pike recently told Washington City officials when they toured the CJC. “Before they leave this building, we teach them a skill that will help them with their anxiety.”
Recently, Pike told the Washington County Commission that the center’s trauma-focused therapy hours has seen a “steep incline” and that “the program just continues to grow and grow.”
With that growth came the need to expand, and thanks to a charitable donation from Intermountain Health, the CJC will be expanding to the property next door. The property is a dirt lot that has set between the CJC and the Jubilee Home on 500 South for over 20 years.
This is the second time Intermountain Health has made a land donation to the CJC as it originally owned the property the current building sits on. That donation was made in the late 1990s.
“It’s been an honor to donate this piece of property behind us,” said Mark Evans, operations manager for Intermountain Health. “It’s a great blessing.”
The expansion covers a 1.22-acre parcel of land and will house the CJC’s medical and mental health programs, as well as provide additional space for staff meetings and training.
The pediatric nurses who conduct the center’s medical examinations are trained by staff from Primary Children’s Hospital.
While Washington County has pledged $2 million for the expansion from American Rescue Plan Act funds, $500,000 still needs to be raised to complete the project. This is being done through a combination of grants and donations.
Those interested in donating to the expansion project can visit the CJC website for more information.
“This is a bittersweet moment,” St. George Mayor Michele Randall said. “We are so grateful that we have the Children’s Justice Center in our county, but how sad that we have to expand. If we lived in a perfect world we wouldn’t have to, unfortunately we do… I know many people who have come through those doors. As heartbreaking as that is, the people that work here are truly angels. I don’t know how they do it day in and day out.”
Pike previously reported to the Washington County Commission that the CJC served 420 victims of child abuse in 2022. This included 283 forensic interviews and 142 medical exams, and 154 traumatic-stress screenings. Those screenings had an average score of 20.2. Anything over 20 is considered high.
A majority of the cases reported that year — nearly 300 — involved child sex abuse or assault.
Over 1,200 therapy hours were provided for abuse survivors in 2022 through the CJC, which was up 300 hours from the previous year.
Reporting child abuse
As for what people can do to help, Pike said they can and should report potential cases of child abuse they encounter. Moreover, such action is required under Utah law. Aside from that, adults need to be worthy of a child’s trust. That way, if that child is abused, they’ll feel safe about approaching the adult with their problem, she said.
“I really encourage parents to have good relationships with their kids and to think about the things they do that let their kids know they can be trusted,” she said.
For those who believe they or someone they know needs the help of the Washington County Children’s Justice Center, call 435-634-1134, visit the center’s website or call Utah’s 24-hour child abuse reporting hotline: 1-855-323-3237.
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