The Utah Children's Justice Center (CJC) is a program of the Utah

Attorney General's Office The Attorney General's Office (AGO) is a department of His Majesty's Government that supports the Attorney General and their deputy, the Solicitor General (together, the Law officers of the Crown in England and Wales). It is sometimes referred ...

to coordinate investigation and prosecution of

child abuse Child abuse (also called child endangerment or child maltreatment) is physical, sexual, and/or psychological maltreatment or neglect of a child or children, especially by a parent or a caregiver. Child abuse may include any act or failure to a ...

, especially child sexual abuse. There are 22 CJC's in the state of Utah. They were created to provide a child friendly environment for interviews and exams of child victims as well as to provide support and centralized resource referrals to victim's families. In 2021,

Joy D. Jones Joy Diane Harmon Jones (born July 20, 1954) was the 13th Primary general president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) from 2016 to 2021. Biography Jones is a native of The Dalles, Oregon, and the daughter of Aldo Harm ...

presented a $300,000 gift from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) to assist their 26 centers throughout the state.

Services

Prior to the creation of the Utah CJC's, investigation of child abuse may have required a child victim to be interviewed by police, social services, medical personnel, psychologists and prosecutors. The primary function of the CJC is to provide a facility where children can feel more comfortable and receive coordinated services as part of the investigative process. The interviews are completed in a home-like setting by law enforcement and/or social service investigators. The interview is recorded so representatives from all involved agencies are able to use the interview in their investigation. The children's justice center provides many secondary services. These include: * Medical forensic exams on-site at some centers *Tracking and monitoring of cases through the criminal justice system *Collaboration of resources among agencies involved in the investigation *Community education presentations *Referrals for mental health and other services

Locations

Utah has 26 justice centers where child victims can be interviewed in a safe child-friendly environment. The centers help coordinate investigation and prosecution of child sex abuse cases. They also provide referral services to victims' families.Utah Code § 67-5b-101-107(2003) *Cache County CJC *Salt Lake South Valley CJC *Carbon County CJC *Tooele County CJC *Davis County CJC *Uintah/Daggett County CJC *Duchesne County CJC *Utah County CJC *Emery County CJC *Summit County CJC *Grand County CJC *Washington County CJC *Iron County CJC *Weber/Morgan County CJC *Salt Lake Avenues CJC *Box Elder County CJC *San Juan County CJC *Sanpete County CJC *Sevier County CJC *Wasatch County CJC *Kane County CJC *Beaver County CJC

Notes

{{reflist

External links

Children's Justice Centers
at AttorneyGeneral.Utah.gov
Iron County Children's Justice Center

Utah County Children's Justice Center

Weber/Morgan Counties Children's Justice Center
Child abuse-related organizations Criminal investigation Organizations based in Utah Public services