Williamson County Children's Advocacy Center breaks ground on expansion Friday

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Friday, the Williamson County Children's Advocacy Center can finally break ground on its new 15,000 square-foot addition thanks to some help from the county after an unexpected $2 million cost overrun put construction on hold last summer.

The new area will provide space for more services such as forensic interviews, family advocacy, crisis services and a multidisciplinary hub. That's a team made up of staff that responds to child abuse usually includes medical and therapy teams as well as the county and district attorneys' offices and law enforcement.

The new building will also have two medical exam rooms and outdoor space for families - something WCCAC staff have not been able to provide in the past.

Every month, about 450 reports of child abuse are made in Williamson County. While their numbers remained steady since 2019 helping about 800 children each year. They did see cases drop by half at the start of the pandemic but quickly went back up. They expect their current fiscal year to see a slight spike, they're on track to help about 1000 kids.

However, they do expect to see a rise in case, as the county grows. They say this new addition couldn't come at a better time.

"We had outgrown the building that we were in, and it was really impacting the ability to serve the children and families the way that we needed to and to be able to grow those services in the way that we wanted to," said Kerrie Stannell, the center's CEO.

The total cost of the new addition and renovations to the current building as well as staffing over the next couple of years runs about $15 million dollars. The county was able to contribute nearly $10 million. Through a campaign, the nonprofit is working to raise the rest. So far, those at the center have raised a little over a million.