Child Advocacy Bureau

About the Program

Category: Criminal Justice and Public Safety (Best in Category)

Year: 2014

The Maricopa County Attorney’s Office (MCAO) has long sought to ensure that those who victimize children are brought to justice. At the same time, we recognize that justice is most healing when it gives children and their families a voice in the criminal justice process and when victim advocates are able to address the needs of the family, especially those of the younger members. This led the MCAO Victim Services Division to create the Child Advocacy Bureau (CAB) in 2012. This bureau provides specialized and high-intensity services to victims of egregious child crimes and their families and is the first such prosecutor’s office in the country to provide a home visit program to child victims of crime - often within 24 to 48 hours. The advocates in CAB ensure that the rights of our youngest and most vulnerable victims are protected and their voices are heard throughout the criminal justice process, including depositions, trial and sentencing.