Walking into the Children’s Justice Center for the first time, two Park City High School juniors felt a peaceful, safe feeling wash over them.
Inside the former Silver Creek home, which was converted into a neutral environment and acts as the workplace for a multidisciplinary team of children protection professionals who serve children and families reporting maltreatment, the teens said staff has thought of everything to make sure visitors feel safe and protected.
And while the adults work toward safeguarding area youth, the two 16-year-olds are doing their part to help them connect with the younger generation.
For the past year, Bailey Carmack and Chloe Taurel have been serving the Children’s Justice Center Advisory Board as youth liaisons. The program started after the new center opened and Dr. Christina Sally suggested the advisory board – which consists of representatives from different sectors of the community like the Summit County Attorney’s Office, the Summit County Sheriff’s Office, the Summit County Health Department, the Park City Police Department, the Division of Child and Family Services and Huntsman Mental Health Institute – include youth voices.
The board advises and assists the Summit County Attorney’s Office in implementing a multi-disciplinary, intergovernmental response to sexual and physical abuse of children and other crimes involving children where the child is a primary victim or a critical witness. This may also include drug-related child endangerment cases and domestic violence in the Children’s Justice Center, providing community input for the center’s operation, recommending guidelines and policies for the operation of the center, and making recommendations for team member training, according to Summit County Attorney Margaret Olson.
“When I first heard about this, I knew I wanted to do something to help,” Carmack said. “The team would do anything to help the hurting and do anything to help with the pain.”
Although the center has existed since 2012, it didn’t have its own facility until December 2020. Carmack and Taurel said the topic of child abuse isn’t often discussed in school or among friends, so they weren’t familiar with the role of the Children’s Justice Center at first.
The center is not for walk-ins, and children are only brought there after a call to its hotline or 911. Olson said there are around 100 children who come into the Children’s Justice Center for interviews per year. Beyond bedrooms that have been transformed into interview sites, the center also includes a fully functional medical suite where exams are performed by a nurse practitioner specializing in child abuse and neglect and treatment options provided by a trauma therapist.
“Those numbers do not include the siblings, parents and other possible secondary victims of trauma from instances of abuse and neglect that are addressed by CJC staff and others on an ongoing basis,” Olson said.
Carmack first learned of the center through Olson’s son, who is a teammate, and through Safe Sport, an abuse prevention program centered around athletics, about two years ago. Since then, she’s thrown herself into “learning on the fly” about the issue. Taurel’s introduction to the Children’s Justice Center came a little over a year ago when she went in for an interview about the youth liaison position.
Both teens were approached by members of the advisory board who asked if they’d consider becoming youth liaisons. They toured the new Children’s Justice Center, which was established in a former home just off the Silver Summit exit of U.S. 40 after a successful multimillion-dollar fundraising campaign. They heard how the advisory board hoped to gain input and ideas from local youth.
As youth liaisons, Carmack and Taurel participate in the advisory board’s quarterly meetings. They said they spend a lot of time listening because there’s so much to take in and, in every meeting, they discover something new. They said they didn’t initially realize the long-lasting impacts of abuse but have since learned the Children’s Justice Center teaches youth they can recover and heal.
Now, they’re also able to educate others on what abuse can look like and how to report it. Carmack and Taurel said they feel like they now have the knowledge to make a difference and the resources to help classmates. And with a multidisciplinary team, the subject matter addresses more than just extreme cases. Additional topics like bullying and the overall well-being of local youth are also discussed.
“It was eye-opening to know that so many people are going through these experiences, and you don’t know. I’m sure there are tons of kids in our class that have had an experience or know someone who has – and I think knowing that we can help just one person is really cool,” Taurel said.
But the teens are also helping board members by providing valuable insight into the issues kids are facing and the best ways to reach them. They said they always feel like the adults are listening to their ideas and praised victim advocates for “thinking of everything” when making a smoother path to reporting abuse or neglect.
“The Children’s Justice Center’s whole focus is on kids so to have the high school perspective, it can help adults learn how to connect,” Carmack said. “We’re the eyes and ears inside.”
Taurel agreed. She said, “They speak with the kids who have reported, and the mix of new perspectives can provide better help. It makes a big difference to have someone know what they’re doing,” she said.
Bringing awareness to the topic of child abuse and neglect is one of the most rewarding aspects of serving as youth liaisons, Carmack and Taurel said. Earlier this month, they approached the Summit County Council and asked them to recognize April as Child Abuse Prevention Month formally.
The teens said they feel empowered knowing they can help others in need and that they’re making a difference in their community.
Olson said having Carmack and Taurel serve as the first youth liaisons for the Children’s Justice Center has been “truly insightful” to the advisory board, and it’s something they plan to continue in the future. The teens have one more year left as youth liaisons before they’ll switch with two new people interested in offering support.
“Youth liaisons give a voice to young people impacted by child maltreatment and also provide invaluable insight into the realities of our youth population,” Olson said. “Additionally, our amazing youth liaisons participate in volunteer activities to support the mission of the CJC.”
Correction: An earlier version of this story misstated the organizations involved with the advisory
board.