Since Rainbow House closed in September, a new partnership has emerged to address the gap in child advocacy services in mid-Missouri.
Missouri Network Against Child Abuse has contracted with Partner for Better, a company that helps grow nonprofits and foundations, to open a new child advocacy center in Columbia, according to a Monday news release.
The new center, called the Child Advocacy Center of Central Missouri, plans to support a child population of approximately 91,000 across the following 11 counties: Adair, Audrain, Boone, Callaway, Cole, Cooper, Howard, Macon, Monroe, Randolph and Shelby counties.
Rainbow House’s child advocacy center will remain open until the Child Advocacy Center of Central Missouri in Columbia is established and can operate on its own, according to the release.
The center is projected to serve at least 600 children annually, providing forensic interviews and connecting them to therapy services and medical examinations.
The contract announcement comes after Rainbow House, a children’s emergency shelter and advocacy center, shuttered its shelter operations in September and voted to move forward with fully dissolving the agency, citing extreme financial difficulties.
“The impending closure of the Rainbow House child advocacy center in Columbia has created a crisis for vulnerable children in mid-Missouri,” said Kasey Hammock, founder of Partner for Better. “Our role is to assist and support (the Missouri Network Against Child Abuse) as they complete the process of founding and creating the Child Advocacy Center of Central Missouri and ensure children have access to critical services.”
The groups hope the new center will be registered as an independent nonprofit by the end of the year, Hammock said.
The new center will receive ongoing state funding of approximately $312,000 and an additional $100,000 from federal sources already secured, according to the release.
“Ensuring that children who have been victims of abuse have a place to go for safety, support and justice is a priority for Boone County,” said Roger Johnson, Boone County prosecuting attorney. “With the loss of the Rainbow House child advocacy center, establishing a new facility is critical to filling this gap. We are committed to working alongside the Child Advocacy Center of Central Missouri to create a safe and responsive center for children in need.”
