FARMINGTON -- The Davis County Attorney's Office had to look no further than in-house to fill the director's position at the Children's Justice Center in Farmington.
Tanya Perkins was hired to fill the role of director, a position that had been vacant since the end of December, when former CJC Director Doug Miller took a job as program director for the Western Regional Children's Advocacy Center in Colorado Springs, Colo.
Perkins was introduced as the new CJC director to the Davis County Commission on Tuesday.
Perkins, who has been with the Davis County center for 14 years, serving as its victim services coordinator, was an "easy choice" to fill the opening, said Davis County Attorney Troy Rawlings.
"Perkins was selected because she was the most qualified applicant for the job."
Rawlings said Perkins had served as the interim director for the CJC since Miller left the director position, and county officials have high expectations of her.
"(Perkins) has proven she can already do it," he said.
"This program is so important to me. It is so needed in our community," said Perkins, who said she enjoys working with law enforcement and attorneys in a coordinated effort to find the best way to deal with child abuse cases.
Each year, 350 to 400 Davis children have reportedly been sexually and/or physically abused, officials said.
The victims are interviewed by law enforcement authorities at the center, which offers a friendly environment in which child victims can be interviewed by professionals.
It also allows the interview to be videotaped unobtrusively.
Over the past 14 years, Perkins said, she has served about 4,000 families as CJC's victim services coordinator.
Perkins said she is also excited to be moving into a new Children's Justice Center.
Currently under construction is a $19.6 million overhaul of the campus surrounding the Davis County Memorial Courthouse, 28 E. State St. Part of that renovation includes the construction of a Davis County Children's Justice Center.
"We are very much looking forward to that," Perkins said.
A Bountiful resident who attended Viewmont High, she graduated from the University of Utah with a Bachelor of Science degree. She majored in human development and family studies and minored in psychology.
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