A mother’s fight for justice using her local Children’s Justice Center services - Children’s Justice Centers Part 3 of 3

The Children’s Justice Centers (CJC) in the state of Utah are established to provide a neutral, comfortable place for coordinated services during the child abuse investigative process. These centers are even more important when you consider that nationally, 1 in 7 children have experienced abuse or neglect in the past year, and even fewer accounts are reported to authorities. On this last part of a three-part series on the stories and services of CJCs, our Relentlessly Resilient hosts have a crucial conversation on issues surrounding child physical and sexual abuse and human trafficking. In this episode, a mother shares the story of when she turned to her local CJC’s services after a family member had abused her young daughters. 

Zumi’s life was turned upside down when her husband had a tragic accident, and she turned to an adult nephew to help take care of her three and four-year-old daughters. Sadly, their situation was made worse when she returned home to one of her daughters disclosing sexual abuse from that nephew. Zumi carefully took the steps she could to protect her daughters, remove them from the situation, and get the authorities involved. She used the medical, investigative, and therapeutic services of her local Children’s Justice Center, even as others wanted to sweep the allegations under the rug. Justice is served as the attacker is sentenced to decades in prison. 

Listeners are encouraged to educate themselves on the signs of child abuse, the responsibility of reporting, how to report, and the carefully coordinated services provided by Utah’s local CJC as part of the investigative process. Great care and research have been given into the development of the process and services in order to provide a comfortable, neutral, child-friendly atmosphere for children and their families receiving care. This includes accreditations from the National Children’s Alliance and a multidisciplinary team trained to minimize trauma and facilitate improved coordination with investigators, as well as resources for survivors of any age. 

While a CJC cannot accept child abuse reports directly, please report suspected abuse by contacting one of the following: Utah Division of Child & Family Services at 1-855-323-3237, your local police department or sheriff’s office, and if it is an emergency; call 911.  

Even though we live in challenging times, we can become Relentlessly Resilient as we lean on and learn from one another’s experiences. Hosts Jennie Taylor and Michelle Scharf are no strangers to overcoming adversity; Michelle lost her husband to cancer, while Jennie’s husband, Major Brent Taylor, was killed in the service of our country. Their stories bond them together, and now listeners can join them weekly as they visit with others enduring challenges and who teach us how they are exercising resiliency, finding value in their grief, and purpose in moving forward. 

Listen to the Relentlessly Resilient Podcast regularly on your favorite platform, at kslpodcasts.com, kslnewsradio.com, or on the KSL NewsRadio App Join the Resilience conversation on Facebook at @RelentlesslyResilient and Instagram @RelentlesslyResilientPodcast. Produced by KellieAnn Halvorsen.