History of the ACC…

The Appalachian Children’s Center, Inc. was originally developed from the efforts of the North Georgia Mountain Crisis Network, Inc., the Judges, the District Attorney’s Office, and some other valuable community members. The Center operated under the umbrella of the North Georgia Mountain Crisis Network for its first two years, and then separated into its own entity in October 2002. The Appalachian Children’s Center, Inc. is a children’s advocacy center serving the Appalachian Judicial Circuit, which encompasses Fannin, Gilmer, and Pickens counties. The Center is located in Ellijay, Georgia, which is the geographic center of the Circuit.

The first official Board of Directors met in October 2001. Ten persons with varied experience relevant to the center’s mission committed to a year of service. Committees were formed to address financial issues, draft by-laws, and develop personnel policies. The Center filed for its Articles of Incorporation and received them also in October 2001.

The Appalachian Children’s Center is now completely furnished and equipped to provide a child-friendly interviewing facility, a conference/observing room, a waiting area for non-offending caregivers and victims, a counseling room for children of all ages, and an office for the Director. The Executive Director primarily provides direct services and advocacy for child victims and their non-offending caregivers, but still serves a portion of her time administratively. The atmosphere is comfortable, child-friendly, and non-institutional; yet efficient for business activities. The Case Manager meets with families to perform child/family assessments, set up safety and case plans, works on goal setting, and provides emotional support throughout their crisis. Both the Executive Director and the Case Manager conduct forensic interviews for the ACC. Therapy and Counseling services are provided at the ACC by our Counselor and Doctoral Intern. Our Clinical Director oversees the clinical portion of these cases, monitors their progress, performs forensic evaluations, and assists in the supervision of the clinical staff.

Counseling Room

Purpose of the ACC…

The Appalachian Children’s Center’s purpose is to stress the coordination of intervention, investigation, prosecution and treatment services by bringing together professionals and agencies as a multi-disciplinary team to create a child-friendly approach to alleged child sexual and severe physical abuse cases. The goal is to ensure that children are not further victimized by the very system designed to protect them. The Appalachian Children’s Center also supports a collaborative approach to intervention, treatment, prosecution, community education, and awareness in the prevention of child abuse and neglect.

The Appalachian Children’s Center, Inc. is a private, non-profit (501 C3) organization. It provides services primarily to Fannin, Gilmer, and Pickens Counties. Courtesy services are provided when requested nationwide via requests from law enforcement, child protective services, mental health and medical professionals, and prosecutors.