The suggestion that another government agency will enhance efficiency should ring a note of skepticism. However, another agency is exactly what child advocates in Butler County announced this week — and their assurance of better government might actually be attainable.

The new nonprofit agency, the Butler County Alliance for Children, will consolidate the processes children must undergo when they are involved in child-abuse investigations.

Joyce Ainsworth, director of county Children and Youth Services, says the consolidation will reduce trauma for the young victims of abuse. She called it a new way to investigate allegations.

Currently, victims of child abuse are shuttled between several entities involved in their investigation: child protective services workers, law enforcement, medical providers, prosecutors, victim advocates, mental health providers and others. The experience can frighten and overwhelm children who already have been traumatized. It can even suppress their recollection of events, making prosecution more difficult.

The new agency is intended to change that. A new Child Advocacy Center will serve as home base for the victims of child abuse; it will be designed as a safe, relaxed environment where those involved in the investigation come to the child, rather than the other way around. The forensic investigator will speak with the child while medical staff, the prosecutor and other team members observe through a one-way mirror.

A staff of two will coordinate all the various segments of the investigative/prosecution team.

“The idea is it’s less intimidating and more relaxed,” says Assistant District Attorney B.T. Fullerton. “It gives us a much more reliable and trustworthy statement of the child victim,”

The benefit to the children will, in turn, aid prosecution of defendants.

The anticipated annual cost — less than $100,000 — will come from a CYS surplus this year. The agency will seek other funding sources once it is established.

The new, nonprofit agency will adhere to accreditation standards set by the National Children’s Alliance, an organization that has established 750 child advocacy centers across the United States since its inception in 1987.

The NCA offers specialized training and support for the centers and investigation teams.

It also provides bottom-line evidence that its methods result in more successful prosecutions with fewer delays — and children are not revictimized by the very system designed to protect them. Communities with child advocacy centers report higher conviction rates than communities without them. They also report an average savings of $1,137 per child in court, child protection and investigative costs, according to NCA data from an independent study.

The multidisciplinary method has a proven track record. It’s more effective, more efficient, less traumatizing to the victim and more accountable to the public.

What’s not to like?