Child Advocacy Center announces capital campaign for new HQ

The Child Advocacy Center Inc. today announced its 30th anniversary capital campaign to purchase and expand a building as it relocates from its 1033 E. Walnut St. headquarters.

The center plans to move to 1414 W. Elfindale St., a building owned by Guaranty Bank, which CAC Executive Director Katiina Dull said is providing a discounted price for the facility. Property acquisition is set at just over $2 million.

“They were very supportive in helping ensure that it fell right within our budget parameters,” Dull said.

The CAC announced that it is under contract on the location and expects to close on the property in the first week of August. The existing building is about 17,000 square feet, Dull said, and is ideal for staffing, training and prevention programming needs. A 10,000-square-foot addition is planned to meet the agency’s needs for forensic and mental health services.

The CAC will sell its two side-by-side Walnut Street buildings.

Dull said the CAC has secured $5 million of the $8 million needed for the project.

The CAC served 1,657 children in 2024, Dull said during a press conference this morning at the existing headquarters.

“One is too many, but these numbers are staggering, and sadly, the need for our services is only continuing to rise,” she said.

Since its establishment in 1995, the CAC has served 26,000 children, Dull said.

She noted the relocation will help to ensure the CAC can meet its current needs for services while also expanding its offerings and offering long-term prevention strategies.

In an interview after the announcement, Dull said the CAC ultimately intends to augment not only its physical footprint, but also its staff.

“That will be the other piece as we look to expand, to being able to serve multiple cases at one time, going from three to five,” she said. “As we add on expanded programs like mental health, we’ll be working to bring in providers through the CAC as well as looking at community collaborations.”

Asked how the expanded staff would be funded, Dull said the agency would be working hard on its development front to raise funds.

“We’ve also been planning for this for a couple of years, so we have built up some cash reserves that are going to help us front-load and fund some of those initial increased expenses while the rest of the long-term development plan kicks into gear.”

The CAC supports investigations of child abuse and neglect, according to a news release from the agency, which reports that 90% of child victims know, love or trust their abusers. The CAC provides a place for children to talk about their experiences with a forensic interviewer in a child-first, research-backed method, the release states.

The CAC has rising caseloads and does not turn away referrals. Though its goal is to see every child within six days of a referral, wait times have recently stretched to 10-day averages, after previously reducing the wait time to seven days, Dull said.

“Even when a child isn’t in immediate danger, the weight of the details and secrets of the abuse they carry is an unbearable burden,” she said during her remarks.

Physician honored

The center was formed 30 years ago by a group of community members who wanted to respond to child abuse allegations without adding to the child’s trauma, the release states. The new center will be named for one member of the group, Dr. John P. Ferguson.

“It is only fitting that the new CAC location will be named in his honor,” said Erica Harris, CAC development director, who characterized the Ferguson family’s willingness to step up to help in the building effort as truly humbling.

Dull said the Ferguson family provided the lead gift on the project, but the family has asked that the amount remain confidential.

Dr. John P. Ferguson was an obstetrician, and Dull said he was committed to helping child victims of sexual abuse. He was one of the few physicians in the area who was willing to perform such sensitive exams, she said.

“He wanted to ensure that children were safe,” she said. “I can think of no one better to name our new location in honor of than Dr. John P. Ferguson.”

Dr. John F. Ferguson, a former CAC board member and the son of the new building’s namesake, said the CAC was important to his father.

“We were introduced to that to begin with when Dad was doing it, and he would come back and tell us stories – as much as he could; he didn’t go into details about names, but he talked about situations,” he said.

His father’s accounts of CAC’s work made an impact, he said.

“All of that was instrumental in keeping us involved,” he said.

Other supporters are the Musgrave Foundation, providing $188,000 out of its capital fund at the start of the effort, funding site location, strategic planning and early architectural work, as well as providing funds for a capital campaign consultant.

Additional funding is provided by the estate of Kathleen Griesemer, a former member and president of the CAC Board of Directors. Dull declined to disclose the amount.

Several anonymous donors have also helped kick-start the campaign, Dull said.

The CAC has announced naming opportunities ranging from $750,000 for its child and family services wing to $50,000 each for five forensic interview rooms, four medical exam rooms and five therapy rooms.

State funding

Dull also credited Missouri Rep. Alex Riley, R-Springfield, with helping to secure a one-time allocation of $3 million for the center in the fiscal 2026 state budget.

Kelly Dudley, vice president of the CAC board, said the state support meant a lot to the agency.

“That was huge,” she said. “It was encouraging to see both sides of the aisle come together to support something that’s for our children, for our families, that none of us can deny that it’s really impactful for our community, not only right now in the moment but for future generations and how Springfield and southwest Missouri will move forward.”

In her remarks, Dull noted the current time is an unstable one for many nonprofit organizations.

“We are grateful that years of prudent fiscal management have positioned the Child Advocacy Center to be able to take this step,” she said.

The project architect and interior designer is Kinetic Design and Development LLC, Dull said, and she noted maintaining a welcoming environment for children is a priority.

Dull said Toth & Associates Inc. is providing civil and mechanical engineering, and PPL Corp., headquartered in Allentown, Pennsylvania, is geotechnical engineer.

In 2024, the CAC reported, the agency conducted 1,523 forensic interviews and 1,324 medical examinations. Its service area includes 14 counties. It has served some 26,000 children since it opened its doors in 1995.

According to the CAC, one in seven children in the U.S. experience abuse or neglect each year, and one in 10 U.S. children are sexually abused before their 18th birthday. Up to 43% of child victims are unable to talk about their abuse, even with corroborating evidence, confessions or witness reports.