History
 In
1991, a concerned group of professionals and individuals
joined forces to improve the system’s response to abused
and neglected children. Their goal was to sensitize the
system to the needs of these young victims by reducing
the number of interviews a child must go through,
limiting the number of professionals with whom the child
must have contact and expediting these cases through the
system. Through the combined efforts of Prosecuting
Attorney Michael P. Barnes, funding and volunteers form
the Junior League of South Bend, the donation of space
from Memorial Hospital, and support form the Division of
Family and Children, these goals were realized with the
establishment of the St. Joseph County Children’s
Center, an advocacy center for abused and neglected
children. In January 1994, the St. Joseph County
Children’s Center opened for business.
Throughout 1994,
prevention programs in related areas were developed in
partnership with the Division of Family and Children,
the Juvenile Justice Center, the Probate Court and area
school corporations. The Family Support Services
Program was designed to address the needs of families
whose child protective services investigation was
unsubstantiated. The Elementary School Truancy
Prevention Program helps identify young children with
attendance problems. Staff members work with parents to
address problems, but failure to remedy the situation
can result in court action. The Teen Pregnancy
Prevention Program attempts to address and prevent
underage sexual activity and teen pregnancy through
education and awareness. Particular attention is paid
to teens that are impregnated by adults and appropriate
cases are referred to the Prosecutor’s Office or Child
Protective Services for investigation and prosecution.
Kid’s Court School was designed to help prepare child
victims who must testify at trial. Concurrent sessions
are held with parents in order to explain the trial
process and how to support their child through the
experience.
 In
January 1997, to eliminate confusion with other
agencies, the name was changed to The CASIE (Child Abuse
Services, Investigation and Education) Center. At the
same time staff members trained in forensic interviewing
and were available to assist professionals from child
protective services and law enforcement with interviews,
especially with very young children.
Through out the years, the
CASIE Center has become an integral part of this
community and the agency people think about when they
think of child abuse. In 2002 Michael Dvorak was
elected prosecuting attorney. He and his staff, which
included former CASIE Center Executive Director Michael
Gotsch, created the Domestic Violence/Special Victims
Unit, a multi-jurisdictional team of law enforcement
officers (LEA), deputy prosecuting attorneys (DPAs),
paralegals and support staff specially trained in
working with victims of child abuse, domestic violence
and sexual assault. The second floor of the CASIE Center
was donated by Memorial Hospital for their use.
 Over
the years the interview numbers have grown, far
exceeding original expectations. There are many reasons
for this increase, but the obvious ones to us are the
increase in the number of cases opened for investigation
by Child Protective Services (CPS), now called
Department of Child Services (DCS), and that standard
practice now is that child abuse allegations need to be
investigated jointly by law enforcement, DCS and a
deputy prosecuting attorney with the interview conducted
by a forensic interviewer trained in the Finding Words
Interviewing Program. In short, new prosecutors and
investigators for DCS and LEA do not know any other way
of conducting investigations.
In 2004, a group from St.
Joseph County submitted a grant proposal to the
President’s Family Justice Center Initiative. They were
selected as one of fifteen sites in the county to start
a Family Justice Center, a one-stop shop center for
victims of domestic violence. The Family Justice Center
of St. Joseph County opened in January 2007, and the DV/SV
Unit moved to the new location at 711 E. Colfax. While
we truly miss having the unit right upstairs, the law
enforcement officers and DPAs continue to come regularly
for interviews.
 Starting
in 2005, through the efforts of a new governor and new
state director of Child Protection, our local Department
of Child Services (DCS) as it is currently known, saw
big changes. More case workers were added and more
cases are opened for investigations. While this has
dramatically increasing the number of forensic
interviews, it has significantly reduced the number of
cases referred by DCS to our Teen Pregnancy Prevention
Program and our Family Support Services Program. That,
combined with Sharon Szymanski taking the newly created
position of Executive Director of Prevent Child Abuse
St. Joseph County, had us reevaluate our programs. We
decided to end our Teen Pregnancy Program in 2005 and
our Family Support Services Program in 2006. While this
was a difficult decision, it was felt that most of these
children and families were being served through our
Forensic Interviewing Program and our Elementary School
Truancy Program.
Program
Overview
 MISSION
The CASIE Center provides
a comprehensive and coordinated multi-disciplinary team
approach to the problem of child abuse, with a
particular emphasis on sexual abuse. The goal of the
Center is to provide a safe, supportive, child friendly
environment for child victims of abuse and neglect,
their families, and the multidisciplinary professional
who investigate and address these problems.
GOALS
The CASIE Center will
achieve its mission by successfully accomplishing the
following goals:
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