Kristi House, Inc. (Kristi House) is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) corporation that was organized in March 1994 as a Task Force to fill the unmet, critical need in Miami-Dade County for specialized and coordinated services for children who are victims of sexual abuse. Local child advocates founded the organization. They had discovered that many child victims of sexual abuse in our community were slipping through the cracks of the social service system and were not receiving the services needed to recover from the trauma of their abuse. The children were undergoing multiple interviews in numerous locations, which only served to compound the trauma for the child. The system of care, rather than helping victims, was deterring families from seeking help.

In response, leaders within the public and private sectors of our community coalesced to create a system of care for child victims of sexual abuse that would provide early access to specialized services in an appropriate non-threatening environment. After years of effort, Kristi House began providing case coordination services in April 1996. The projected goal for the first year of operations was to serve 60 children and families. Within three months, Kristi House had served almost 100 children; by the end of the first 12 months of operation, Kristi House had served nearly 400 children and families. Faced with the seriousness of the need, the Kristi House Board of Directors took steps to build a child advocacy center that would provide a special environment for the collocation of the numerous agencies involved in handling the emotional, physical, and legal needs of sexually abused children.

Upon the receipt of a challenge grant of $1 million from philanthropists Ellis Orlowitz and Enid Lee, Kristi House launched a $3 million capital campaign to construct, furnish and equip the center.

The Orlowitz-Lee Children's Advocacy Center opened in March 1999 with the help and support of the Department of Children and Families and the State Attorney's Office.