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Bessemer Cut-Off Child
Advocacy Center The Advocacy Center is housed in a renovated seventy-five (75) year old home. The house is set up with two interview rooms, where sexually and physically abused children are interviewed and provided Direct Services when necessary. The Center is staffed with a Director, Assistant Director and a state Licensed Counselor under contract to provide counseling to child victims and non-offending parents. Medical examinations are provided primarily by CHIPS-Phone (205) 254-5199 and The Children's Hospital of Alabama. The District Attorney is the primary sponsor of the program and is President of the Executive Board consisting of various community leaders.
The Child Advocacy Center houses a multidisciplinary team which includes workers of the Department of Human Resources, law enforcement officers, counselors, an assistant district attorney, a medical director, and support personnel and child advocate volunteers. Twice weekly scheduled clinics are held in the University of South Alabama Pediatric Outpatient Clinic. Referrals are made by law enforcement officers, child protective workers of the Department of Human Resources, and physicians after reporting requirements have been met. Acute cases of child maltreatment are seen at the Child Evaluation Center at the University of South Alabama Women/Children's Hospital.
CHIPS is a small multidisciplinary clinic at Children's Hospital which coordinates with the Children's Hospital Emergency Department to provide SANE (nurse examiner) medical evaluations and counseling services for prepubertal male and female child and adolescent victims of suspected sexual abuse in a child-friendly atmosphere. Pediatric and Adolescent
Gynecology Dr. Stradtman and his staff provide comprehensive colposcopic medical evaluations and medical treatment for child and adolescent victims of alleged sexual abuse or assault, including examination under anaesthesia when warranted.
The child
advocacy center is home to a mulitdisciplinary team approach to child
abuse evaluations. There are two sound proof interview rooms equipped
with two-way mirrors and audiovisual recording capabilities. Workers
from the Department of Human Resources and the Juvenile Division of
the Tuscaloosa County Sheriff's Department interview most of their
child witnesses and/or victims at the center. The Assistant District
Attorney in charge of child abuse cases has an office on site as well
as the Director, her assistant, and a psychologist for evaluation
and counseling. Dr. Taylor performs the medical examinations once
a week in the pediatric clinic of the University of Alabama School
of Medicine's multispecialty outpatient clinic. Team meetings are
held every other Thursday at the center
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