by Sarah Glass
There are occasions when the most vulnerable of the population – children and developmentally disabled persons – must tell some hard stories. Perhaps they witnessed a crime or were the subject of one. Emma’s House in Hamilton is a Child Advocacy Center (CAC) designed to convey warmth and security while empowering victims to share testimony or evidence for use by investigative authorities.
On Wednesday, July 15, Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen traveled to Hamilton to tour the campus and present the local nonprofit with a $37,874.69 monetary award secured by the state Department of Justice. Emma’s House Executive Director Val Widmer thanked Knudsen for supporting Montana CACs, saying that the funds will go toward forensic interview equipment upgrades, training for law enforcement partners and safety improvements on the building.
“The funding comes from a Johnson and Johnson settlement that resolved allegations the company manufactured, marketed and knowingly sold baby powder tainted with carcinogenic asbestos,” reported Knudsen’s office, “Since 2024, the nine accredited CAC programs in the state and the Children’s Alliance of Montana each received $20,000 to support their work serving victims of crime and abuse in the first and second phases of the grant funding. In this third phase, accredited CACs are eligible to apply for and receive up to $50,000 in grant funding annually through the program.”
As a former county prosecutor, Knudsen acknowledged the likelihood for criminal investigation procedures to unnecessarily traumatize young victims, especially in areas where CACs are not present: “The old-school way, you have [a victim] examined by a forensic nurse; then you have them give an interview to a police officer, and then they have to give the same interview to a forensic interviewer. By the time it’s all done, that kid has given the same interview several times; maybe they are tired of doing it; maybe they change their story. It’s painful; they don’t want to keep talking about it. So, maybe they go ‘well, never mind, it didn’t happen,’ which, for the prosecution, is a killer. The great thing about these [CACs] is that all those victim services are all in one location where we don’t have to retraumatize that victim.”
Emma’s House is a space made to put children at ease while forensic interviews or physical examinations are conducted as delicately as possible. It is the goal of the staff to ensure they do not feel like they are in trouble or being interrogated.
Underscoring this point was a “ball wall” at the far end of the CAC’s entrance room. Behind a clear pane displaying the words “you are not alone” were numerous colored plastic balls, each representing someone who had come through Emma’s House to share their voice and find a path to heal. Colorful bird cutouts hung from an ornament in one corner. Quilts featuring cartoon dogs and bicycles rested on a rack beside cushioned furniture.
“It’s got to be reassuring for those kids,” said Knudsen, indicating the warmth of the space.
Guides led visitors to a room with a fidget-spinner basket, a small kitchen and a plethora of board games and crafts. “We make a ton of slime,” Councilor Jennifer Murrillo said of her and her clients, explaining that the goal is to keep their hands moving while they talk. Caregivers can join counseling sessions as well, she noted, as “kids heal through the context of their grownups.”
Additional spaces included a kid-friendly examination room, a donation closet, a meeting room, and a space for investigators to listen and observe conversations between children and licensed CAC professionals without being disruptive.
“When I was a detective, we used to sit in a closet outside the interview room,” said Hamilton Police Chief Steve Snavely, who was also in attendance for the tour.
“We are deeply grateful to Attorney General Knudsen for visiting Emma’s House and seeing firsthand how the Children’s Advocacy Center model serves children in the Bitterroot and across Montana,” Widmer announced in a statement after the event. “He understands what a CAC means for a case — stronger investigations and stronger prosecutions. More importantly, his thoughtful questions made clear he understands what it means for a child: reduced trauma, ongoing counseling and a path toward healing.”
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