Discover Brighter World Child Advocacy Center - 2025 in Review
Much of the work of a Child Advocacy Center is invisible by design. The safest, most compassionate support for a child happens out of public view - in quiet rooms, in careful conversations, and in coordinated responses that protect a child’s dignity at every step.
At Brighter World CAC, that unseen work shaped every month of 2025. Through forensic interviews, coordinated advocacy, school-based support, mobile response, and community education, the CAC provided care that families often describe as a turning point: a moment when someone finally listened, believed, and walked beside them through something no child should ever face.
This year, we strengthened our multidisciplinary partnerships, expanded services across three counties, deepened our Title IX advocacy, and brought child abuse prevention to broader public view, all while responding directly to children and caregivers in crisis.
CAC Garden Party - Program Director Cassandra Baca
Impact Highlights from 2025
Even with much of the CAC’s work occurring privately, this year demonstrated meaningful progress:
Expanded regional access: CAC conducted interviews and support services not only in Routt County but also in Moffat and Grand, including mobile interviews when families could not travel to Steamboat.
Growing school partnerships: CAC staff worked closely with multiple schools to address Title IX issues, safety planning, and teen dating violence education.
Family-centered advocacy: Collaborations with advocates ensured families had support navigating criminal, civil, and school-based systems.
Stronger MDT coordination: Across law enforcement, DHS partners, therapists, and advocates, the CAC helped strengthen shared protocols, build trust, and support families more consistently.
Public education & prevention: Events like The Bigger Picture, Inside Out, and From Awareness to Action elevated community understanding of child abuse, trauma, and prevention strategies.
What We Accomplished This Year
Strengthening Response Across Three Counties
From mobile interviews in Grand County to complex layered advocacy work in Moffat and Routt, the CAC’s presence and impact has continued to grow. When a family could not travel safely for a forensic interview, staff coordinated a mobile response — leveraging a partner agency’s soft interview room so the child could share their story in a comfortable, trauma-informed space.
This flexible, child-centered approach not only improved access but built trust with partner agencies across the region.
Title IX and School-Based Support
This year brought several challenging school scenarios requiring careful advocacy. CAC staff worked with parents, administrators, and partner agencies to ensure youth safety — from addressing Civil Protection Orders on school campuses to pushing for appropriate Title IX responses. In every situation, the priority remained the same: protect the child, support the family, and help schools build the knowledge needed for safe, compliant responses.
Community Education and Prevention
Brighter World’s prevention presence has steadily grown.
For December’s The Bigger Picture event, we have assembled a deeply knowledgeable panel - including law enforcement, DHS, therapists, and multiple advocacy organizations - to demystify how communities can respond to child abuse. Inside Out, a family-friendly event, will help bring prevention into everyday spaces and conversations.
CAC staff also presented at From Awareness to Action, earning meaningful feedback and sparking new community partnerships.
Stories of Impact
(All stories reflect real situations experienced this year, but identifying details have been changed to protect children and families.)
A Family Finally Heard
A caregiver arrived feeling overwhelmed after months of navigating conflicting messages from multiple systems. Through coordinated advocacy and a carefully structured forensic interview, the family finally felt like someone understood the complexity of their situation. With CAC support, schools and partner agencies aligned more closely, leading to a safer, more stable plan for the child.
A Child Able to Speak in Their Own Time
In one case, the child needed a longer, multi-session interview — a process that built enough rapport to help them share what had happened. The family later shared that the interview environment felt “respectful, calm, and patient in a way nothing else had been.”
A Rural Family With Limited Access
A mandatory reporter connected the CAC with a family living far from Steamboat. By meeting them closer to home and coordinating with regional law enforcement and DHS partners, staff removed significant barriers that might have prevented the family from ever receiving services.
Brighter World Supporter “Pinwheel Garden”
Collaboration in a Difficult Landscape
Child abuse work is complex, and coordinated response can be challenging for any community - especially rural ones. This year, CAC navigated shifting workloads, partner capacity differences, and resource constraints across multiple counties. While these situations required diplomacy and persistence, they also opened new doors for improving communication and strengthening shared expectations.
By working closely with district attorneys, law enforcement, and DHS partners, the CAC continued helping shape clearer standards for when forensic interviews are needed, how cases move through systems, and how children can be best supported throughout the process.
The Road Ahead
Looking into 2026, Brighter World CAC is preparing for:
Child Abuse Prevention Month events and awareness campaigns
Garden Party fundraising and community-building
Ongoing MDT strengthening across Routt, Moffat, and Grand counties
Continued advocacy for school-based safety and Title IX compliance in a changing landscape
More training, outreach, and education that helps remove stigma and increase community readiness to prevent child abuse
As always, every next step is guided by the core principle that children deserve to be heard, believed, and protected - and that families deserve support rooted in care, not judgment.
Funding Challenges & Why Your Support Matters
Child abuse is a topic many people understandably struggle to confront, and that discomfort often extends to fundraising. Community education events like The Bigger Picture and Inside Out help bridge that gap, but the reality is that sustaining trauma-informed, child-centered services requires ongoing, stable support.
Your generosity ensures:
A child has a safe, neutral space to share their story
Families receive guidance through overwhelming legal and school systems
Rural communities have access to trained forensic interviewers and advocates
Prevention and education efforts continue expanding
Staff can respond quickly and flexibly when families need help most
A Clear Ask for This Giving Season
Your support protects children at some of the most vulnerable moments of their lives.
A gift today sustains forensic interviews, family advocacy, school safety planning, and community education — all essential pieces of a coordinated response that puts children first.
Thank you for helping us build a safer, more informed, and more responsive community for every child.
