David A. Betz, Sergeant
Program Manager

Harford County Child Advocacy Center
23 N. Main Street
Bel Air, MD 21014

Maryland

Sergeant David A. Betz, a 19-year veteran of the Harford County Sheriff's Office, has been involved in the investigation of child abuse cases since 1998. For six of the past seven years, he served as Program Manager for the Harford County Child Advocacy Center (CAC), managing resources and personnel from the State's Attorney's Office, local law enforcement, the Departments of Social Services and Family and Children's Services, and a private mental health agency. Under Sergeant Betz's leadership, the CAC became the Family Justice Center in May 2006. At this time, resources were consolidated physically into one office, and the domestic violence unit from the Harford County's Sheriff's Office and the Sexual Assault/Spouse Abuse Resource Center—the domestic violence intervention and treatment program in the county—were added to the service continuum.

An outstanding advocate for children and families, Sergeant Betz played an integral role in the CAC becoming nationally accredited. He has proven instrumental in organizing two Cherish the Child Symposiums, held in Harford County in April 2005 and 2006—the Child Abuse and Prevention Month. As a past President, Vice President, and current Treasurer for the Maryland Children's Alliance, Sergeant Betz assumes a pivotal role in the Mid-Atlantic Conference of Child Abuse each October in Ocean City, Maryland. His knowledge of the field of child abuse and his extensive network of colleagues enables Sergeant Betz to obtain nationally recognized speakers and coordinate a workshop agenda that continually brings best practice models of intervention to child abuse professionals in the county, the State of Maryland, and the mid-Atlantic region.