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The maltreatment of children requires skilled medical and social intervention. In a child-friendly atmosphere, the Children’s Hospital of Michigan Child Protection Center (CPC) promotes the health and safety of children through advocacy, expert medical assessment, intervention and prevention of child abuse and neglect.
At the Children’s Hospital of Michigan Child Protection Center (CPC), we provide forensic medical exams and interviews, colposcopy, case tracking and review, professional training, education, research and collaborative partnerships. We work with families, law enforcement, child protective services, courts, community professionals and the child welfare system to protect children and families in our community, region and state. Our mission is to help protect the most vulnerable in our community — our children and families — by providing the best medical care and response when there are concerns of child abuse or neglect.
The Child Protection Center (CPC) is composed of specially trained staff physicians, nurses and social workers who are available to provide comprehensive medical evaluations, including medical history, forensic interview, colposcopy and assessment of the child’s needs. These services are available for children under the age of 18 with all forms of suspected maltreatment, including physical abuse, sexual abuse, failure to thrive, and neglect. Consultations are available for in patients at Children’s Hospital of Michigan or during non emergency visits by appointment in the CPC Clinic.
We offer training in the medical issues surrounding child abuse and neglect recognition and assessment for medical and hospital staff and students, interns and residents. We also offer community-based training in the medical aspects of child abuse and neglect for health professionals and others such as law enforcement and case workers. In addition, we are training the next generation of professionals who will serve as child abuse medical specialists.
The Child Protection Center works to help promote and expand advocacy, outreach and education efforts about child abuse and neglect. We provide expert knowledge about medical issues and the role of medical providers in the child welfare system in order to improve policies and procedures which affect children and families.
Child abuse and neglect prevention programs are a critical component of our Child Protection Center. We work to develop philanthropic opportunities that lay the foundation for programs to prevent abuse and neglect from occurring. These programs can be provided universally or for families with special needs.
Our experts provide specialized assessments which can be utilized by law enforcement and protective services agencies in their investigations. We serve as the point of contact for collaboration among these agencies and also work with other agencies and health care providers to improve the professional response to child abuse and neglect in our community.
The Children’s Hospital of Michigan Child Protection Center is committed to medically-oriented, rigorous research to understand various risk and protective factors surrounding child abuse and neglect and to evaluate the impact of programs designed to reduce its incidence and to help children and families.