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Child Advocacy Center at Isaiah's Place reports increased local caseload, expands services
Summary
Jennifer Nisley, program director at Isaiah's Place Child Advocacy Center, briefed the Troy City Council on the center's 2024 caseload, staffing additions, accreditation status and countywide training and school-based prevention work.
TROY, Ohio — Jennifer Nisley, program director of the Child Advocacy Center at Isaiah's Place, told the Troy City Council on April 7 that the center provided coordinated forensic interviews and wraparound services to more than 155 children and families in 2024 and expanded services for Troy residents.
Nisley said the center handled 155 individual children and families countywide last year and that Troy accounted for 29 forensic interviews, making Troy the county's second-largest source of cases. "We served over 155 individual children and families," she told council. "Last year for Troy specifically, we served 29 or conducted forensic interviews for 29 individual children."
Nut graf: The center said it has added staffing and training resources to shorten wait times for mental-health services, obtained developing accreditation from the National Children’s Alliance, and helped implement school-based prevention training required by Ohio’s Aaron’s Law.
What the center is doing: Nisley described a multidisciplinary model that combines forensic interviews, connections to medical and mental-health providers (including Dayton Children’s Hospital), case management and court support to reduce trauma for children and families. She said the center added a full-time mental health therapist and a part-time social worker to conduct interviews and provide case management, enabling faster mental-health access for children who otherwise face wait lists.
Training and prevention: Isaiah's Place secured a national trainer to instruct local professionals; Nisley said more than 125 county professionals attended, including law enforcement, children services staff, school counselors and principals. She also described assistance to school districts to implement the prevention curriculum required under Ohio’s Aaron’s Law, noting seven of eight county districts renewed participation.
Council response and access: Council members and the mayor praised the program’s local role. Nisley invited members to tour the center and provided contact information for follow-up. She said the center began conducting forensic interviews in December 2022 and that the number of "kid-on-kid" cases (allegations involving people age 18 and under) has increased nationwide and locally.
Ending: Council members thanked Isaiah's Place for its work and for reducing barriers to mental-health services for children in Miami County.
