Intervention

Similar to the support structure of other national centers, the Family Justice Center’s onsite partners include:

• Strength United counseling and advocacy staff and volunteers
• Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) major assault crimes detectives
• Los Angeles City Attorneys 
• Dignity Health Northridge Hospital Center for Assault Treatment Services (CATS) forensic nurse examiners
• Neighborhood Legal Services

Unlike any other family justice center, this center operates through a university. The center’s unique partnership with California State University, Northridge’s Michael D. Eisner College of Education, provides an interdisciplinary approach to ending abuse and violence through the collaboration of mental health professionals, educators, researchers, students, and volunteers.

The Family Justice Center Program is located at Strength United's Van Nuys office:
14651 Oxnard Street
Van Nuys, CA 91411

Individuals and loved ones affected by child maltreatment and domestic and sexual violence can learn more by contacting our 24-Hour Support and Referral Line: 

• (818) 886-0453
• (661) 253-0258

For those in immediate danger, call 911

24 Hours a Day, Seven Days a Week, 365 Days a Year:

• (818) 886-0453
• (661) 253-0258

For those in immediate danger, call 911.

Strength United is a trusted resource for individuals and families who have experienced rape, sexual assault or child sexual abuse. Each year our trained and certified volunteer advocates and counselors respond to more than 1,300 calls helping those in need.

Our 24-Hour Support and Resource Telephone Line provides:

• Information
• Crisis Intervention
• Emotional Support
• Guidance for Giving and Receiving Help
• Referrals and Linkages to Community Resources   

Who should call:

•  Individuals who have experienced recent or past
• Child Maltreatment/Abuse
• Rape or Sexual Assault
• Domestic Abuse and/or Assault
• Sexual Harassment
• Parents of abused children
• Concerned Friends or Relatives
• Professionals seeking information

The Sexual Assault Response Team (SART) is a client-centered program that provides emergency response to reports of child sexual abuse, rape and sexual assault. A team of trained and certified professionals provide services to individuals of all ages including children, adolescents, adults, parents, family members and friends.

The Sexual Assault Response Team consists of:

1. Center for Assault Treatment Services

Sexual assault nurse examiners conduct a complete and sensitive medical forensic examination that provides critical documentation of the assault and can include evidence collection. Nurse examiners also provide testimony for courts.

2. Law Enforcement

Police officers provide a professional and thorough investigation to develop a factual history of the assault.

3. Prosecutors

The District Attorney’s Office has established the Victim Impact Program (VIP) to handle cases of child abuse, sex crimes and family violence.  In those cases where prosecution will be pursued, a specially trained Deputy District Attorney handles each case from beginning to end. 

4. Strength United Advocates and Counselors

Trained and certified volunteer advocates and counselors provide information, emotional support, answer questions, connect individuals and families to resources, and facilitate the journey through the emotional, medical and legal aftermath of the assault/abuse.

Additional members of SART might include health care providers, detectives, forensic scientists and prosecuting attorneys.

To learn more about SART, call our 24-Hour Support and Referral Line:

• (818) 886-0453
• (661) 253-0258 

For those in immediate danger, call 911.

Children who have been abused or witnessed violence can experience a range of behavioral and emotional changes. They may internalize their feelings and withdraw, they may show signs of anxiety and fear, or they may act out their pain and fear by fighting, destroying property, and being disobedient or violent towards others.

In the Child Abuse Prevention, Intervention and Treatment program (CAPIT), licensed and volunteer master’s degree-level counselors partner with families to help children overcome the effects of abuse, dissolve fear and trauma, and gain control of their behavior.  Counselors provide parents with steps for helping their children manage their emotions and build constructive behavior and healthy relationships free of violence.

Counselors take a positive approach in identifying and building on individual and family strengths while teaching skills for coping with stress and strategies for working through conflicts and problems.

Services include:

• Case management
• Child counseling
• Adolescent counseling
• Family counseling
• Group counseling
• Linkages to resources in the community

In collaboration with the Department of Children and Family Services, the Family Preservation program provides comprehensive support services to families experiencing difficulties related to child maltreatment.

Services include:

• In home outreach counseling
• Individual, family and group counseling
• Teaching and demonstrating home management skills
• Case management
• Parent education

Services identify and build on the strengths of individuals and families to ensure the physical, emotional, social and educational development of children in a safe and nurturing family environment.

Program goals are to:

1. Ensure Safety – Keep children free of further abuse and neglect.
2. Achieve Permanency – Children achieve residential permanency through stabilizing families, family reunification, adoption and guardianship.
3. Promote Well-Being – Children will improve their functioning in the areas of physical, emotional, social and educational development.
4. Strengthen Parents – Parents will build on their competencies and strengthen their capacities to effectively parent and nurture their children.

Family Preservation Services are only offered to families directly referred by the Department of Children and Family Services.

As alumni of California State University, Northridge, we are committed to creating a safe space on campus where survivors of sexual assault, interpersonal abuse, harassment, and stalking can discuss their experiences, concerns, and options. We seek to provide trauma-informed care that is culturally attuned to who you are. We understand that after an assault or abuse, survivors may experience short- and/or long-term effects, and as care advocates, we are dedicated to providing support services that meet the unique needs of every survivor. We want to emphasize to the campus community that no one should have to navigate these issues on their own and that there is no shame in seeking support. If you feel that you or someone you know might benefit from these services, no matter what the circumstances or timing of your experience, please reach out to us. There is help available.

The Department of Justice defines domestic violence as a pattern of abusive behavior that is used by one partner in any relationship to gain or maintain power and control over another intimate partner. Domestic violence can be physical, sexual, emotional, economic, or psychological actions or threats of actions that influence another person. This includes any behaviors that intimidate, manipulate, humiliate, isolate, frighten, terrorize, coerce, threaten, blame, hurt, injure, or wound someone.

• One in every four women will experience domestic violence in her lifetime
• 1.3 million women are victims of physical assault by an intimate partner each year
• 85% of domestic violence victims are women; 15% are men
• Females who are 20-24 years of age are at the greatest risk
• The cost of intimate partner violence exceeds $5.8 billion each year
• Every year an estimated 3 to 10 million children witness assaults against a parent by an intimate partner.

In response to the needs of individuals and families, Strength United provides:

• Crisis intervention
• Individual counseling
• Support groups
• Safety Plan development before you leave
• Safety Plan support after you leave
• Civil legal services
• Escape list creation
• Abusive relationship checklist

Adults and children who witness or experience domestic violence are at risk for many difficulties. These include post-traumatic stress disorder, general anxiety, depression, problems with attention, concentration, school/work performance, aggressiveness, and other problems managing emotions. With supportive counseling, these effects can be addressed to reduce long-term negative consequences.

• Every 2 minutes, another American is sexually assaulted
• 1 in 6 women have been the victim of an attempted or completed rape her lifetime
• 1 in 33 men have been the victim of an attempted or completed rape in their lifetime
• About 1 in 10 children will be sexually abused before their 18th birthday
• 1 in 6 men and 1 in 3 girls will have experienced abusive sexual experiences before their 18th birthday
• 73% of sexual assaults were perpetrated by someone known to the victim
• The majority of child sexual abuse perpetrators are known to the child

The United States Department of Justice defines sexual assault as any type of sexual contact or behavior that occurs without the explicit consent of the recipient. Falling under the definition of sexual assault are sexual activities such as:

• Forced sexual intercourse
• Forced sodomy
• Child Molestation
• Incest
• Fondling
• Attempted rape
• Exposure to pornographic materials
• Exhibitionism
• Obscene phone calls

Child Molestation includes offenses in three categories: touching, non-touching and sexual exploitation. Examples of each include:

1. Touching

• Fondling;
• Making a child touch an adult’s sexual organs; and
• Penetration of the vagina or anus no matter how slight by any object that does not have a valid medical purpose

2. Non-Touching

• Engaging in indecent exposure or exhibitionism
• Exposing children to pornographic material
• Deliberately exposing a child to the act of sexual intercourse; and
• Masturbating in front of a child

3. Sexual exploitation

• Engaging a child or soliciting a child for purposes of prostitution
• Using a child to film, photograph or model pornography

After a traumatic event, such as sexual assault or child sexual abuse, it is typical to have feelings of anxiety, stress or fear and, in children, regressive behaviors. These effects may make it difficult to adjust or cope afterward the attack.  In particular, severe feelings of anxiety, stress or fear, known as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) may occur.  Symptoms of PTSD can include reliving the event in the form of flashbacks, frightening thoughts, recurring memories or dreams; avoidance of any situations related to the event, including places, events or people; difficulty in concentration and falling asleep; feeling tense or edge; and angry outbursts. 

Children and teens may experience bedwetting, inability to talk, acting out the assault and/ or being unusually clingy with a parent or other trusted adult.

Treatment

Getting treatment as soon as possible after the traumatic event can prevent symptoms from becoming a long-term condition. Strength United professionals have extensive knowledge in the treatment of PTSD and the provision of supportive care to individuals who have been impacted by sexual assault or child sexual abuse.  These services include:

• 24-Hour Support and Referral Line
• 24-Hour accompaniment support during forensic medical evidentiary exams, court and investigative meetings
• Individual and family counseling to individuals of all ages
• Advocacy to assist clients in obtaining necessary services and information
• Case Management
• Support Groups for:
  • Children
  • Teens
  • Adults
  • Parents of sexual abused children
  • Adults molested as children

Children who have been abused or witnessed violence can experience a range of behavioral and emotional changes. They may internalize their feelings and withdraw, they may show signs of anxiety and fear, or they may act out their pain and fear by fighting, destroying property, and being disobedient or violent towards others.

In the Child Abuse Prevention, Intervention and Treatment program (CAPIT), licensed and volunteer master’s degree-level counselors partner with families to help children overcome the effects of abuse, dissolve fear and trauma, and gain control of their behavior.  Counselors provide parents with steps for helping their children manage their emotions and build constructive behavior and healthy relationships free of violence.

Counselors take a positive approach in identifying and building on individual and family strengths while teaching skills for coping with stress and strategies for working through conflicts and problems.

Services include:

• Case management
• Child counseling
• Adolescent counseling
• Family counseling
• Group counseling
• Linkages to resources in the community

Child maltreatment may involve:

• Exposure to violence in the home (domestic violence)   
• Emotional abuse
• Psychological maltreatment
• Neglect
• Physical abuse
• Sexual abuse

Children’s exposure to repeated, multiple or prolonged violence or abuse can create traumatic effects such as startle reactions, withdrawal and avoidance, depression, anxiety and fear, and delayed emotional, physical and psychological development. Trauma in children can result in the inability to control or express emotions, a loss of safety and the inability to recognize or respond to danger or threatening situations. These responses to trauma can also be caused by accidents, natural disasters and war.

Recognizing the need of children who have been abused and experience trauma, Strength United provides counseling services that are specifically aimed at helping children overcome traumatic reactions, recover from abuse and/or neglect, live happily in safety, learn and achieve, and reach their full potential.

Strength United’s counselors are specially prepared to identify signs of trauma in children and to help them to eliminate harmful reactions. Treatment includes educating children and parents about trauma and its effects, steps for identifying and expressing emotions, and skills for managing and eliminating trauma symptoms. Parents are involved in the treatment process as they learn how to help their children in the home. They are additionally invited to participate in their own individual therapy.

Strength United provides the following services for addressing trauma in children:

• Education about trauma for parents and children
• Individual trauma focused counseling
• Group counseling
• Parent counseling and support groups 

Children who have been abused or witnessed violence can experience a range of behavioral and emotional changes. They may internalize their feelings and withdraw, they may show signs of anxiety and fear, or they may act out their pain and fear by fighting, destroying property, and being disobedient or violent towards others.

In the Child Abuse Prevention, Intervention and Treatment program (CAPIT), licensed and volunteer master’s degree-level counselors partner with families to help children overcome the effects of abuse, dissolve fear and trauma, and gain control of their behavior.  Counselors provide parents with steps for helping their children manage their emotions and build constructive behavior and healthy relationships free of violence.

Counselors take a positive approach in identifying and building on individual and family strengths while teaching skills for coping with stress and strategies for working through conflicts and problems.

Services include:

• Case management
• Child counseling
• Adolescent counseling
• Family counseling
• Group counseling
• Linkages to resources in the community

In collaboration with the Department of Children and Family Services, the Family Preservation program provides comprehensive support services to families experiencing difficulties related to child maltreatment.

Services include:

• In home outreach counseling
• Individual, family and group counseling
• Teaching and demonstrating home management skills
• Case management
• Parent education

Services identify and build on the strengths of individuals and families to ensure the physical, emotional, social and educational development of children in a safe and nurturing family environment.

Program goals are to:

1. Ensure Safety – Keep children free of further abuse and neglect.
2. Achieve Permanency – Children achieve residential permanency through stabilizing families, family reunification, adoption and guardianship.
3. Promote Well-Being – Children will improve their functioning in the areas of physical, emotional, social and educational development.
4. Strengthen Parents – Parents will build on their competencies and strengthen their capacities to effectively parent and nurture their children.

Family Preservation Services are only offered to families directly referred by the Department of Children and Family Services.

Services include:

• 24–Hour Crisis Line
• 24–Hour Accompaniment to police departments, forensic exams, court and follow-up interviews
• Advocacy
• Case management
• Crisis intervention
• Assessment
• Individual counseling
• Couples counseling
• Family counseling
• Group counseling
• Assistance in obtaining restraining orders
• Safety planning
• Help with the application for the Victims Compensation Program, which can help pay bills and expenses that result from certain violent crimes. 
• Information and referrals

­Strength United’s counselors are dedicated to providing individual, family and group counseling in a skilled and compassionate manner.  In addition to providing you with services, they can also meet with your loved ones, who may also be struggling with their own reactions to the assault.

If you have experienced sexual violence now or in the past, the center offers free sessions.  If you have been the victim of a violent crime, we can assist you in determining if you are eligible for the Victim Compensation Program, which may cover the cost of counseling.