Newsletter: Winter 2002: Spotlight On: Denise Briales

Denise Briales is a Child and Family Advocate and Counselor at the Brooklyn Child Advocacy Center (BAC), a program of Safe Horizon and the only DOH funded child advocacy center. She works with a multidisciplinary team of prosecutors, medical specialists, Child Protection Services and the Brooklyn Child Abuse Squad.

As a counselor, Denise provides children with a friendly environment in which to begin healing by expressing their experiences through therapeutic processes. She also educates victims on the criminal justice process, and enrolls them in court school if their case is going to family court. "This empowers them to do their best as they give testimony about their victimization," says Denise. She also conducts extended forensic assessments with children "who aren't able to provide a complete and clear disclosure about their allegation of physical or sexual abuse." One of the challenges of her work is the low conviction rate, "especially regarding children. They don't have the articulation and credibility that an adult may have... nor, in many cases, are they swearable."

Denise began working for Safe Horizon, formerly known as Victim Services, in 1986. But social work has been a part of her life since she was a child: "I am the youngest of eight children, and everyone calls me for their therapeutic needs," she said. Through their church, Denise and her husband serve as mentors to newly engaged and married couples.

Social work provides Denise with "a sense of accomplishment" in helping people "regain control and direction over their lives." She hopes to excel in this field and become an expert witness in criminal and family court. Denise will return this September to pursue her dream of finishing school. Good luck, Denise!

Kate Woodrow is the Outreach and Education Associate at The New York City Alliance Against Sexual Assault. [[2] more]

(Read [3] other articles in this series.)

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[1]: http://www.nycagainstrape.org/home/nycaasa/stage.nycagainstrape.org/newsletter_author_1.html
[2]: http://www.nycagainstrape.org/home/nycaasa/stage.nycagainstrape.org/newsletter_author_1.html
[3]: http://www.nycagainstrape.org/home/nycaasa/stage.nycagainstrape.org/newsletter_column_3.html
[4]: http://www.nycagainstrape.org/home/nycaasa/stage.nycagainstrape.org/newsletter_article_106.html
[5]: http://www.nycagainstrape.org/home/nycaasa/stage.nycagainstrape.org/newsletter_article_101.html

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