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By Cami Cox - Staff Writer
The contributions and efforts of many individuals reached fruition April 22 as the staff of the Washington County Children's Justice Center officially opened the doors to their new facility.
Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff and Washington County Commissioner Alan Gardner were among those who addressed the crowd at a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new CJC building, located adjacent to its former location at 463 E. 500 South, in St. George.
“I'm just so excited. I am so happy to be at this place, finally!” CJC director Patricia Sheffield said prior to the ribbon cutting. “We've watched and waited for this day, and as chaotic as it feels right this minute, it feels so exciting to know that we've got something that really says to the children of our community, 'We truly care about you.'”
The Children's Justice Center serves families and children involved in alleged abuse cases. The Justice Center provides a homelike atmosphere for children, where they can be interviewed regarding the alleged abuse in a comfortable, non-threatening environment. The intent is to reduce the stress and trauma for the children that would be associated with interrogation in a police setting. The CJC also accommodates family members of the children as they go through the often chaotic ordeals associated with child abuse cases, according to information from the Washington County Children's Justice Center Web site.
The Justice Center's former facility, located in a small home leased at no cost through Dixie Regional Medical Center, served the center for many years, but an ever-growing county and an ever-growing caseload have made it inadequate for the CJC's needs. There have been some repair issues associated with the building's age, Sheffield said, and there is no room for expansion there.
The former CJC building was 1,800 square feet; the new center has 5,600 square feet, with private offices for staff members (some were formerly working in the kitchen and other open areas of the CJC due to lack of space), conference areas, an elevator, additional child interview rooms, and two private waiting rooms (designed to look like living rooms) for family members of the children being questioned. The new center is also equipped with the latest technology for recording the children’s interviews.
“Everything is steps above what we have been working with,” Sheffield said. “It's a huge jump from where we were.”
The opening of the new CJC facility has been long-anticipated, she said. The groundbreaking for the new Justice Center took place about a year ago, but planning for the project began long before that.
“We started planning for this about four years ago,” she said. “When we were raising the money and getting ready to build, we wanted to build for the future, not for just today.
“We purposefully made it the size that it is, so that we could accommodate growth in the future.”
During the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Justice Center, thanks were given to Dixie Regional Medical Center for their donated use of the former facility. Two outstanding volunteers, Mike and Colleen Empey, were also honored for their many contributions, including their service as co-directors at a time when the CJC didn't have a director. Both served on the advisory board of the CJC for more than 10 years and were involved in the Justice Center's founding. The award given to the Empeys featured a sculpture of small children holding hands and was named “The Empey Award,” to be given to outstanding volunteers in subsequent years.
“Hopefully, it's a recognition of everybody working together,” Mike Empey said. “We got to play a role in that.”
Many individuals in the community have made the new Justice Center possible, Sheffield said. Various rooms in the center were “adopted” by community members, who financed the designing and furnishing of the rooms. Various local builders, contractors and suppliers also donated labor and supplies, or provided them at a discount, to the building project, and community members made donations large and small to add up to the successful completion of the Justice Center.
“This building has been built with no federal or state or county or city money at all, and when we open the doors, this is completely paid for, so we'll have no mortgage, nothing, thanks to the generosity of our community,” Sheffield said. “We are so grateful to everybody who has played a role in making this happen.
“There are not enough words to talk about how awesome I think our community has been. I am just awestruck by them.”
The Children's Justice Center will continue to operate out of both facilities as they transition to their new building over the next few weeks. For more information about the Washington County Children's Justice Center, visit www.cjcwc.org or call 634-1134.

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