Center for traumatized children planned for Carson City

When the restoration of Carson City’s historic Norcross House is finished, a team of ready workers will welcome Northern Nevada’s rural children who have witnessed traumatic experiences in the hope of setting them on a better path.

The Carson City Rural Child Advocacy Center will be the region’s newest facility using a multi-disciplinary method for children who have been victims of or witnesses to crime, abuse or exploitation.

The shared vision between Carson City Sheriff’s Capt. Craig Lowe and philanthropists Dave and Jan Marson will keep families from traveling miles to centers in Reno or Elko and subjecting them to prolonged access to an investigator, unsuccessful interview methods and enduring distress.

The CCRCAC will serve youth and families in Carson and provide support to neighboring rural counties, including Churchill, Douglas, Humboldt, Lyon, Mineral, Pershing and Storey.

“You’re trying to create a location in a community where the expectation is that the child will come and disclose the most horrific thing that has happened to them in their lives and you’re expected to do it in a manner that doesn’t add to their trauma,” Lowe said. “And as simple as a building looking very government, looking like a hospital, looking like a police station or a sheriff’s office, that can all contribute to that trauma. So the trick is to find people that can create and foster that atmosphere and a location that is everything but those things.”

Why Carson needs a CAC

Child Advocacy Centers coordinate the investigation, treatment and prosecution of child abuse cases. 

Blake Warenik is communications director for the National Children’s Alliance based in Washington, D.C. The association of 961 accredited centers across the country equips communities to help children experiencing abuse and provides NCA members access to trainings, libraries and legislative platforms to discuss policies. Warenik said all CACs are encouraged to become accredited, but it’s a challenge establishing additional facilities willing to provide advocacy and quality assurance efforts in Nevada beyond what’s available in Reno, Elko, Pahrump and Las Vegas.

CACs, responsible for medical exams, courtroom preparation, case management and victim advocacy services, generally struggle to find the clinicians who specialize in evidence-based cases, he said.

“Having a CAC in Carson City is not just valuable to the people in the community, but because of the commitment of the community and because of the logistics,” Warenik said. “The other reason it’s important is because of the kids that can be seen at a CAC more quickly for the community to rally around, and this means they’re going to go on to having a life sooner and having fewer impacts as adults sooner.”

As a central hub to Douglas, Lyon and Storey counties, it makes sense to establish a working center in the heart of the area, Lowe said. But most local residents don’t think of Carson as a rural destination among rural counties most in need of the access, so determining caseload in its infancy might vary.

Washoe County provides a service one day a week to many rural counties, but it’s no longer enough as cases increase.

Community buy-in

To get the project off the ground, Lowe first pitched the idea of establishing the center in February 2023 and approached Carson City Ken Furlong for permission to talk to community members. Cooperation was essential from local Mobile Outreach Safety Team members, Carson City Health and Human Services, Advocates to End Domestic Violence and others. Everyone has been highly supportive and positive about it.

Furlong told the Appeal this month he was thankful for the collaboration to make a CAC and its care services possible in Carson City. Furlong recently spoke at Carson City’s Nevada Legislative Mall in support of National Child Abuse Prevention Month and frequently advocates for wraparound mental and behavioral support services for children and teens.

“I think when folks and nonprofits come forward — Jan (Marson) — that’s where we make the most significant amount of progress in reaching out to the kids, reaching out to the agencies,” Furlong said. “I could not be more enlightened as to where we’re headed down the road. I think that our folks who are suffering deserve better treatment.”

Jan Marson’s background as an occupational therapist and previous work with the Rural Children’s Mental Health Consortium said her recent introduction to the nonprofit world and training has helped. Her goal is to make sure the CAC succeeds and to set up a team equally invested in its purpose.

The house itself that was chosen — the Norcross House at 412 N. Division St.— was “charming,” Lowe said, when he and the Marsons found it. Its character as an historical home provides a positive vibe most families might respond to for the CAC’s needs.

“I loved the energy,” he said. “Sometimes historical homes can have a different feel. I said I can see coming here and relaxing here. … And I knew I had the right place. You don’t just treat the child; you’ve got to look out for the brother and the sister … the mother, the nonoffending family member. These two children will be like, ‘What happened to Billy?’”

And to truly make it happen, it would take the financial support. Jan Marson instantly understood the need for it when Carson City Mayor Lori Bagwell introduced her to Lowe.

“This is by nature a highly collaborative effort; it has to be,” Lowe said.

Bagwell told the Appeal the presence of CCRCAC at this juncture for the Quad-County region and surrounding areas couldn’t be done without the generosity of the Marsons.

“I am pleased that Carson City will have a premier center for our children to receive service and to be cared for in their own community,” Bagwell said. “Being able to provide immediate service instead of waiting weeks should help our children heal and let them know we are here for them. I want to thank the Marson family for helping us make this center a reality.”

Getting it off the ground

Marson said initially, CAC will be able to take on three or four nurses and enough staff to conduct six interviews per week. The center expects to serve about 150 clients annually, and 15 to 25 professionals are expected to receive specialized training.

“We have a general idea of what we can expect from the rurals as far as cases per year,” Lowe said. “The wild card is, what about the ones that didn’t show because it was in Reno? Once they understand the process and availability and the center and they see the facility, I think our numbers are going to go up year to year.”

Ultimately, never having to prosecute any child sex abuse or neglect cases also would be the end goal.

Carson City District Attorney Jason Woodbury, who began as a deputy district attorney in 1999 and became the city’s district attorney in 2015, is a strong advocate of the position that in case management, “one case is too many.”

The CCDA office has 11 child sexual abuse cases pending as of April 9, Woodbury said. Child abuse cases are those in which one or more offenses of sexual assault on a child younger than 16, sexual assault on a child younger than 14 and statutory sexual seduction and/or lewdness with a child have been charged.

Of the 11 investigations, seven included an interview in the Washoe County Child Advocacy Center in Reno, and one included an interview at a CAC out of state where the victim was located, according to Woodbury.

During 2023, the CCDA’s office received 56 child sexual abuse investigations from the Carson City Sheriff’s Office.

Woodbury said the Washoe CAC has been an important service and has been just as generous to other local jurisdictions, assisting children and families in the interview process. But there are cases that often are put at a standstill when considering the rurals’ shared calendar when scheduling them one day a week.

“The trauma continues to be experienced by that child, and it’s not an ideal circumstance,” Woodbury said. “Having that facility directly dedicated to Carson cases is going to be all around a less traumatic event.”

Community support

Initial funding for the CCRAC is established with the help of community support, including the Marsons’ foundation Serving Our Communities. The foundation received a $600,000 grant from the Nevada Division of Child and Family Services.

Now, Jan Marson said, SOC has pledged to sponsor the project and provided $250,000 for a matching gift in 2025. As of March, Marson said SOCT had reached 10% of its goal and continues asking for assistance from community members interested in supporting the CAC. To donate, go to https://donorbox.org/child-advocacy-center.

It also will rely on expertise from community partners such as Carson City School District to serve student needs. Carson High School counselor Bridget Gordon-Johnson said the CCRCAC can help students to thrive as they learn to feel safe again in what is often considered a service desert.

“Our students have faced an increase in traumatic experiences, and opportunities for restorative support is essential in improving their futures,” Gordon-Johnson said. “The school district has always had a positive working relationship with our Sheriff's Office, Juvenile Probation Office, Advocates to End Domestic Violence and Xquisite, and I believe that collaboration amongst our agencies only further strengthens students’ opportunities for resiliency after terrible events occur. This new center will provide a greater way to meet student needs.”

Lowe said he looked forward to fostering new, successful partnerships and maintaining current working relationships with the CACs in the state.

“There is nothing negative about having this center here,” Lowe said. “You have an opportunity to take a child who has been a victim in the most horrific manner and try to provide this child with an opportunity to go forward without letting this moment in their life define who they will become later in life, and that’s an art and it takes a community to do that.”