When you walk in the front door of Tina's House on Hadley Avenue, you see murals painted by local artist and rooms with coaches, TV's and toys.

Tina's House
Tina's House (Rosetta Key, Townsquare Media NJ)
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Tina's House, the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office, newly renovated Children's Advocacy Center on Hadley Avenue, is warm and welcoming and aimed at helping to make child abuse, sexual assault and child crime victims feel at ease.

"That child can come in, can talk about what occurred and can do so in such a manner so that they're not scarred any more than is necessary," said Prosecutor Joseph Coronato.

The new Children's Advocacy Center is run by the Special Victims Unit of the County Prosecutor's Office. Lieutenant Colleen Lynch, who runs the center, said it provides one-stop services for child crime victims.

"Tina's House provides a multidisciplinary team response to allegations of child abuse. It brings together members from law enforcement, child protection, prosecution, mental health, medical and victim advocacy, to make team decisions regarding the management of child abuse cases," According to the Prosecutor's Office press release.

Lynch said there are two separate waiting areas and interview rooms geared younger children and adolescent crime victims, as well as a separate entrance and offices for the professionals.

"When there's a child who is subject to a sexual assault, this facility is geared toward making it less of a traumatic event for that child," said Coronato.

He said Tina's House is also one of the first steps in a long process of achieving national accreditation from the National Children's Alliance. He said with the accreditation, they will have access to additional grant funding to further improve the efforts of the Special Victims Unit.

The center was named after Detective Tina Rambo who was killed in a motor vehicle accident in 2011. In a press release Prosecutor Coronato stated, "Tina's House is being dedicated in the memory of Detective Tina Rambo. Det. Rambo served ten years with the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office and was assigned to both the Special Victims' Unit and Domestic Violence Unit where she played a vital role in the investigation and prosecution of those who sexually and physically abused children and committed acts of domestic violence against others. Her dedication to children and families, both inside and outside of the office, and the fact that she worked for so many years inside the walls of this very building makes it fitting to declare this space, Tina's House"

"For us this is just the beginning, not the end, it's the beginning of what we need to do to investigate these crimes and also to be compassionate to the victims," said Coronato.

 

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