On Tuesday, April 25th, Kids’ Place will hold the Berkshire County Kids’ Place Awards Presentation to celebrate their 30-year anniversary. The presentation will take place from 5:30-8:00pm at Bousquet Mountain Ski Area, 101 Dan Fox Drive, Pittsfield MA.
Kids’ Place was incorporated as a nonprofit in 1993 after its founders, Timothy J. Shugrue (Berkshire County District Attorney) and Joseph Collias (retired Pittsfield Police Detective) identified a need for a child advocacy center in Berkshire County.
Child advocacy centers (CACs) are a national model serving children facing allegations of being the victims of sexual and physical abuse. CACs house a specialty response team, the Multi-Disciplinary Team (MDT), in one location. The MDT is made up of child protective services, forensic interviewers, law enforcement, prosecutors, family advocates and medical and mental health care providers. Through the child advocacy center, team members can meet children in an age-appropriate, trauma-informed environment.
District Attorney Shugrue and Detective Collias worked for four years to open Kids’ Place. Together they raised thousands of dollars and wrote grants to purchase a building and hire staff allowing them to officially open the CAC’s doors in 1995. Through their work in law enforcement, Shugrue and Collias saw the need to better serve children who had allegedly experienced abuse. Prior to Kids’ Place, children were required to visit multiple agencies to be questioned and examined during the most vulnerable periods of their young lives.
Kids’ Place was one of the first child advocacy centers in the nation. The center follows the model set by Alabama Congressman Robert Cramer. District Attorney Shugrue and Detective Collias worked closely with Congressman Cramer to establish Kids’ Place. Since Kids’ Place opened in 1993, all counties in Massachusetts have gone on to establish their own CACs.
Kids’ Place will present the Thomas O’Brien Community Leader Award to District Attorney Timothy Shugrue and Detective Joseph Collias; the Gerard D. Downing Service to Children Award to Dalton Police Chief and Kids’ Place forensic interviewer Deanna Strout; and the Sheri Quinn Outstanding Volunteer Service Award to Kids’ Place board member Steven Murdock.