Children's Justice & Advocacy Center (CJAC)

CJAC's mission is to serve children and families affected by child abuse and to provide a collaborative and compassionate community response.

Imagine being a child carrying a secret that feels too big, too scary, and too confusing to put into words.

Then imagine being asked to tell that story.

At the Children’s Justice & Advocacy Center (CJAC), we meet children and families on some of the hardest days of their lives. Children come through our doors because there is concern that they may have experienced abuse, neglect, violence, or another traumatic event. They may be frightened. Their caregivers may feel overwhelmed and unsure of what happens next.

Our job is to make sure they don't have to navigate that experience alone.

From the moment a family arrives, CJAC provides a safe, welcoming, trauma-informed environment where children can be heard and families can find support. A specially trained forensic interviewer gives the child an opportunity to share their experience in a developmentally appropriate and neutral setting—helping reduce the need for a child to tell their story over and over again.

While the child is being supported, our Family Advocate is there for the caregiver—answering questions, connecting the family with resources, coordinating medical and mental health services, assisting with practical needs, and remaining alongside them as they navigate what can be a long and difficult journey.

And the need continues to grow.

In just the first six months of 2026, CJAC conducted 80 forensic interviews and provided advocacy and support to 241 children and family members. We serve families throughout Cowlitz and Wahkiakum Counties, including families who may already be facing financial hardship, transportation challenges, rural isolation, or difficulty accessing specialized services.

No family receives a bill for walking through our doors.

That is where you become part of their story.

Your Give More 24 donation helps provide forensic interviews, family advocacy, trauma-informed mental health support, coordination of medical care, transportation assistance, and a safe place where children and families can begin moving forward.

We cannot change what brought a child through our doors.

But together, we can change what happens next.

This Give More 24, please consider investing in the Children’s Justice & Advocacy Center and helping us continue to provide compassionate, coordinated services to children and families throughout Cowlitz and Wahkiakum Counties.

Every child deserves to be heard. Every family deserves support. And every child deserves the opportunity to heal.