What is Hope House?
Hope House is a facility that provides a warm, home-like environment for the children who are brought here for the interview process. At Hope House, primary emphasis is placed on the safety and well-being of the child in order to prevent further trauma or suffering and to maintain a minimal number of interviews so that re-victimization of the child does not occur. The center enhances the quality of the community's response to child abuse by establishing clear guidelines for an intervention system designed with the child victims and investigation validity as its primary concerns.
Our country has experienced an increase in the reporting of incidents of child abuse and neglect; a trend which has been seen world wide. In responding to these reports, numerous problems have been encountered, including excessive interviews of child victims, development of physical evidence and lack of communication among involved agencies. Having recognized these problems, Tom Green County developed a cooperative team approach to the investigation of child child abuse and neglect. Hope House is a program designed to improve the investigation and treatment of children who have been physically or sexually abused and offers a coordinated effort among agencies in San Angelo including Child Protective Services, the police department, the sheriff's office, the district attorney's office, medical personnel and therapists.