Orange County to Be Site of Abused Children Center

A national organization headed by John Walsh, whose 6-year-old son was abducted and killed in Florida in 1981, has unveiled plans to build a resource center in Orange County to help abused children, a local volunteer said.

Susan Davidson, 41, of Saddleback Valley, who will be the center’s executive director, said it will deal with “the whole spectrum of child abuse” and with medical and legal problems the victims encounter.

The Orange County facility, scheduled to open Sept. 1, will be the newest of the centers sponsored by the Adam Walsh Foundation, named after the boy who was kidnaped, abused and killed in Florida four years ago. Others are in Florida, Texas, Ohio and Santa Barbara.

Since that highly publicized case, the subject of a network television movie, John Walsh was been involved in setting up centers to help parents of abducted and abused children.

Davidson, a victim of child abuse, has spent the last 17 years as a volunteer in efforts to help missing and abused children, including the last five years as a legal consultant.

“I am a survivor of child abuse. I’ve gone through the whole therapy,” she said.

Fund-Raising Efforts

Although the foundation has not chosen a site, it is raising money for the project. Davidson said the group needs $250,000 to open the office, pay three salaried employees and meet other expenses. The foundation hopes to raise $2 million during the next five years to keep the center on sound financial footing.

She said the children’s resource center, which will be staffed by volunteer attorneys and therapists, will assist families in cases of incest, child molestation and physical abuse. Four lawyers and five therapists already have volunteered, Davidson said, although clients will be under no obligation to retain them when cases go to court.

A large research library also will be available to professionals and the public, she said, although the group has no materials so far. Davidson also said a special interview room would be designed to help abused children prepare for court appearances.

“We want to do this so that it won’t be a frightening and intimidating experience for the children. It should be an experience they will not dread” when they testify in court or are questioned by police officers.

Help From Disney Worker

An employee of Disney Productions will design the interview room, she said, and GVC Video will donate the equipment used in the training sessions with the children.

The children’s resource center also will be connected to centralized law enforcement computers containing the names of missing children nationwide, Davidson said. The purpose is to help victims and the public keep abreast of developments in cases.

The center, which will serve San Bernardino, Riverside and Orange counties, will be open weekdays, and a 24-hour hot line will be established to handle emergencies and referrals. Abused children will not be housed at the center, she said.

Orange County was selected because of its central location and the area’s ability to “attract families.”

Also, she said, “California seems to be a haven for abuse.” About 64,000 registered sex offenders live in the state.

“Figures for 1983-84 show that California had a 70% increase in reportings of child abuse” over the previous two years, she said.