BY MARY KATHERINE SHAPIRO
Rainbow Room, where children can get new clothing, hygiene products, shoes and any other supplies they might need in the event they need to leave their home. The advocacy center also pro- vides free, trauma-informed therapy to victims and non-o ending family members. “What’s really special about our program is, once a child comes to us, they are a client for the rest of their life,” Powers said. How to help Powers said people often wrongly assume that child abuse doesn’t happen in more a uent areas, like Collin County. “Child abuse knows no boundaries with income,” Powers said. “It knows no boundaries with race.” He emphasized the importance of parents having regular conversations with their children about abuse and signs to look out for. “Sex o enders target kids who are vulnerable, maybe disenfranchised, maybe on the fringes,” Powers said. “It’s our responsibility as adults to watch out for those kids.”
The speci cs In 2023, the majority of all forensic interviews took place at the Plano campus, Powers said. However, as growth increases in the northern part of the county, the organization saw more clients at its McKinney campus in 2024 and 2025, Powers said of the shift. The advocacy center works closely with local school districts to project area growth and predict how it can best serve the county, Powers said. Every o ce at the McKinney campus can t one or two more people, he said. “We purposely built this [facility] with growth potential,” Powers said. What it o ers One of the rst services a child receives when they come to the advocacy center is a forensic interview, during which trained sta members listen to the child’s experience and collect infor- mation that can be used during the investigation in collaboration with law enforcement o cers and members of Child Protective Services. Another resource the center provides is the
Forensic interviews by location
Plano campus
McKinney campus
2023
597 523
53.3% 46.7%
2024
492 592
45.39% 54.61%
2025 442
42.42% 57.58%
600
2025 by the numbers
Total clients served
4,504
Rainbow Room clients
815
Clients provided with therapeutic counseling Clients provided with family advocacy services
728
2,892
SOURCE: CHILDREN'S ADVOCACY CENTER OF COLLIN COUNTY COMMUNITY IMPACT
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