Shining Star Children’s Advocacy Center will open an expanded office in Oregon this fall, according to its executive director.

Shining Star, based in Dixon, works with the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services and law enforcement when there are issues of physical and sexual abuse of children. The agency serves about 300 potential victims of child abuse in Ogle and Lee counties each year, has been in operation for 24 years and has worked with more than 3,500 children.

When there is an open case, Shining Star has its own location where children can be interviewed in a warm environment by trained staff. It also provides counseling, court advocacy, community resources and more.

In recent years, Shining Star has had a small office in Oregon that has been for counseling only. Shining Star Children’s Advocacy Center Executive Director Jessica Cash said Friday the expanded office, at 1001 Pines Road, will allow for forensic interviews, advocacy, counseling and all the services it does in its Dixon office. The space will be closer to the Ogle County families that Shining Star serves.

“We know transportation is a barrier for families and for kids to get the services they need,” Cash said. “If they can’t come to us, we need to find a way to go to them. This is one way to do it. We’ve had a lot of support from the community and people reached out about spaces. It’s been heartwarming to see how many people want to help us.”

A suite is being built at 1001 Pines Road to fit Shining Star’s needs, Cash said. She estimates it will be completed in 6 to 8 months before opening, depending on how fast supplies come in and construction happens.

The Dixon office will continue to be Shining Star’s main location.

Shining Star opened its small counseling space in Oregon in 2022 after seeing barriers to kids in the area getting consistent counseling due to travel distance. The organization often has cases where families don’t have transportation to get to forensic interviews, Cash said.

Work has been done in recent years on securing funding for the new, expanded office. Cash said an anonymous donor came forward to help equip the new space to make services more accessible to those in Ogle County. Grant applications have been written for items such as furniture and technology.

Shining Star serves about 150 kids a year from Ogle County, who will now be served by the Oregon office. Cash said she hopes more of those kids will now be able to consistently do the follow-up services that the organization offers.

“We’ve seen increased need recently, which is part of the reason why we’re opening a second expanded office,” Cash said. “The rise in numbers is being seen equally in both counties.”

Shining Star’s counselor currently splits time between the Dixon and Oregon offices, which will continue with the new office. Cash and Shining Star’s advocate and forensic interviewer will also split time between Dixon and Oregon when the new space opens. A long-term goal of the organization is to have an advocate dedicated to Ogle County cases and another dedicated to Lee County cases, Cash said.

Cash said she’s been working on doing more outreach in Ogle County in recent years to be more involved and make contacts. She wants more families to know about Shining Star and the services it offers.

“Our services are not the type that needs to be marketed,” Cash said. “People get referred to us from law enforcement or DCFS. I do want families to know that there are resources out there and that their kids don’t have to be interviewed by the police or DCFS. There is a state statute that gives every child the right to a forensic interview. There are choices out there for families and the more we can get our name and what we do out there, the more families will know about that choice.”

The aspect of the new Oregon office that Cash is most excited about is improved accessibility and visibility for families in Ogle County.

“In Lee County, we’re here, and people see our office when they’re in the hospital clinic,” Cash said. “A lot of Ogle County people don’t know. Being able to be there and more involved in the community so people know where to find us if they need us is what excites me most.”