The interview room at Cowlitz County’s new Children’s Justice and Advocacy Center is painted a soothing shade of blue. Two plush, beige chairs occupy the center of the small room. There is a hidden microphone and, along one wall, a large pane of one-way glass, through which lawyers, detectives, doctors and others can watch and listen.

This is the place where abused children will share their darkest secrets.

Cowlitz County Prosecutor Sue Baur on Wednesday unveiled the new center along Allen Street in downtown Kelso. The center, she and other officials said, will reduce abused children’s trauma by giving them a single place to share their stories and get help.

Until Wednesday, abused children have had to recount their tales of abuse time and again — to police, prosecutors, social workers and defense lawyers. So many interviews, Sheriff Mark Nelson said in a statement released Wednesday, caused “children to have to relive their nightmare far too many times. Even with the best intentions and efforts, it was inevitable for these children to have to tell their story many times to many people for many reasons.”

Now, child victims of sexual and other abuse will tell their stories to a trained forensic interviewer. Lawyers, investigators and others involved can watch from a neighboring room, reducing the number of times a child is interviewed.

Charlie Rosenzweig, the sheriff’s office’s chief criminal deputy, noted during a ribbon-cutting ceremony that the county’s detectives will no longer conduct initial interviews with abused children. He called the center “a new chapter for law enforcement.”

”It’s a huge benefit,” Rosenzweig said. “And I’m sure it will serve the children better.”

The center employs forensic interviewer Cindi Buchanan as well as two Americorps workers as “children’s advocates” to help them navigate the justice system as well as a complex array of social services.

The operation — a joint effort between the prosecutor’s office, Emergency Support Shelter, the Child Psychiatry Coalition and other social service groups — is funded by donations and nearly $120,000 in grants, Baur said.

She said she eventually wants to include a medical center where abused children undergo medical examinations.

Longview Police Capt. Dan Jacobs said the center “is something that we’ve needed forever in our county. It’s something that we’ve been talking about for years.”

The center’s goal, he said, is “to get to the truth. The only way we can do that is have good investigations and do good interviews.”

Sarah Hancock, assistant director of the Emergency Support Shelter, said the center will also help children recover from abuse by making it easy for families to find help through social services.

“Children are resilient and we want to nurture that,” she said. “We want children’s rights to be upheld.”