PORTLAND, Maine - A new center to investigate child abuse was unveiled in Cumberland County today. The Children's Advocacy Center in Portland marks the third center in the state that's designed to increase efficiency and effectiveness when investigating alleged abuse.
Maine Department of Health and Human Services Commissioner Mary Mayhew says law enforcement, child protective services, the legal community, and others will partner under one roof to better support children and increase successful prosecutions.
"Gone are the days when up to 20 individuals asked various questions of a child in order to collect the information needed to prosecute or to provide services," Mayhew said. "I can't imagine what that experience must have been like for children or their families."
Mayhew says there were 2,300 cases of child abuse cases in Maine last year.
