Posted on Jan 29, 2021 in
NEWSWORTHY
Fort Bend County Detective Joe Luera, Child Advocates of Fort Bend CASA Program Director Metoyer Martin, County Attorney Bridgette Smith-Lawson, In-Coming Major of Administration Manny Zamora, Child Advocates of Fort Bend Children’s Advocacy Center Program Director Fiona Remko, Fort Bend County Sheriff Eric Fagan, Child Advocates of Fort Bend CEO Ruthanne Mefford and Fort Bend County Sheriff’s Office Detective and MDT Liaison Juli Johnson.
Fort Bend County Sheriff-Elect Eric Fagan and Fort Bend County Attorney-Elect Bridgett Smith-Lawson visited Child Advocates of Fort Bend (CAFB) in December to meet CAFB leadership, tour the new Davis George Campus and discuss how best to serve children who have been abused and their families. Detectives from the Fort Bend County Sheriff’s Office and the Child Abuse Division of the Fort Bend County Attorney’s Office will be co-located on site at Child Advocates of Fort Bend’s Davis George Campus in Rosenberg. In addition, prosecutors from the Fort Bend District Attorney’s Office and investigative and conservatorship workers from the Department of Family and Protective Services will also co-locate at Child Advocates of Fort Bend. This co-location supports a Multi-Disciplinary Team approach that fosters collaboration to ensure that children have access to timely services and don’t fall through the cracks while they are in the child welfare system.
CAFB served 2690 children and families last year and this number is growing every year due to higher reports of abuse and neglect over the past five years. The impact of COVID-19 on children has been tragic with higher incidence and severity of abuse and increased cases of domestic violence, homicide and suicide of family members, witnessed by their children.
“Fort Bend County is fortunate to have the support of Smith-Lawson and Fagan working in collaboration with Child Advocates of Fort Bend, CPS and the District Attorney’s Office as a team on the civil and criminal cases of abuse and neglect. The experience and dedication of Smith-Lawson, Fagan along with District Attorney Brian Middleton and DFPS leadership will have a tremendous impact on the outcomes and long-term health and safety of our children,” said Ruthanne Mefford, CEO, Child Advocates of Fort Bend.
For more information on CAFB and how you can help these small victims, visit www.cafb.org or call 281-341-9955.
