THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, January 31, 1996 TAG: 9601310474
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY ELIZABETH SIMPSON, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Long : 116 lines
The Child Abuse Center of Hampton Roads opened a year ago this month with a mission to help heal children and their families.
If numbers are any indication, the center is well on its way:
More than 700 children suspected of being abused or neglected have been served by the center. The staff has gone from three full-time people to 10. The center has moved from a cramped office on Hampton Boulevard to one across the street that's three times the size. And the referrals are coming in fast and furiously.
``The numbers have been overwhelming,'' said Jane Stein, director of the center. ``We were told when we opened that we could drown in our own success. We didn't drown - we're seeing all the kids who are referred to us - but keeping up with everything else has been difficult.''
It's not surprising the center has plenty of work given the number of child-abuse reports in the area. The eastern region of Virginia, which includes South Hampton Roads and the Eastern Shore, received 7,422 reports of child abuse and neglect in fiscal year 1995, a slight decrease from the previous year. In 24 percent of those cases, clear evidence of abuse was found.
The nonprofit Child Abuse Center, with its colorful playrooms of dollhouses and dinosaurs, helps handle the caseload by serving as an adjunct of sorts to local Child Protective Services agencies. Social workers often refer children to the center for psychological evaluations, which helps determine whether a child has been abused, and outline the best plan for therapy and other services.
``They've been a real asset in evaluating cases,'' said Dorothy Fariss, a Child Protective Services supervisor in Norfolk. ``They look at all parts of a case - not just the physical part of it by itself, but the family as a whole, and that's been very helpful.''
The center also gets referrals from the general public and social services departments other than CPS. While some people go to the center under court order to avoid losing their children, or to get them back from social services departments, others come in voluntarily for help.
Richard E. Tumblin, a licensed clinical social worker at the center, said he is working with a mother who acknowledges she abuses her children and wants to stop a cycle that began when she herself was an abused child.
``She's very motivated,'' Tumblin said. ``Often people are in denial about abuse, but she knows she has a problem and she wants to fix it.''
While the center does provide therapy for some families, the caseload is so great that most families are also referred to other professionals.
The majority of cases referred to the center - about 90 percent - involve sexual abuse allegations. Betty Bryan, the center's program and services manager, would like to see more physical-abuse cases referred for evaluation as well.
``One of our concerns is that people focus so heavily on healing the body in physical-abuse cases that they don't think about the emotional impact of that kind of abuse,'' Bryan said.
``We want to help professionals to recognize the emotional impact of physical abuse and the importance of some kind of psychological assessment.''
The idea for a center that would comprehensively evaluate abused children was born when Solon and Johan Paul, a Hampton couple, approached lawyer Edward Stein for help in planning their estate. The couple wanted to find a charity to receive their estate.
They thought child abuse was an important issue, so Stein approached Dr. John M. de Triquet with the idea of opening a center devoted to abused children. De Triquet, this area's leading expert in child-abuse evaluation, helped set up the center.
While the center does coordinate some of de Triquet's evaluations of physical abuse of children, those examinations are conducted at Children's Hospital of The King's Daughters.
Children's Hospital agreed to give the center a $100,000 annual grant for three years to get the facility up and running. The cities of Chesapeake, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Suffolk and Virginia Beach have also made contributions to the center, as have private companies and individuals. The center also gets some money from patients' insurance coverage and co-payments, but much less than originally expected.
``The pressure to keep enough funds coming in to meet the needs is tremendous,'' Jane Stein said. ``But I feel like people in this community will make this project survive.''
The center also provides a training ground for people who want to work in the child-abuse prevention field.
Two residents in clinical psychology are working at the center, and plans are under way to bring in social-work students who need experience in the field.
Bryan regularly trains police-academy students and prosecutors on how to best interview children suspected of being abused or neglected, which is her area of expertise.
But the top priority of the center is the children themselves.
``The center is a recognizable point of contact in the community,'' said Betty Wade Coyle, executive director of Hampton Roads Committee to Prevent Child Abuse, another agency that deals with child abuse.
``They help make sure cases don't fall through the cracks.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
VICKI CRONIS/The Virginian-Pilot
Jane Stein, director of the Child Abuse Center of Hampton Roads,
holds an anatomically correct doll the center uses with children to
help identify sexual abuse. The nonprofit center is an adjunct of
sorts to local Child Protective Services agencies.
Graphic
THE CHILD ABUSE CENTER OF HAMPTON ROADS
Mission: Psychologically evaluates children suspected of being
abused or neglected. Arranges therapy for abused children. Refers
families to treatment services.
Location: Near Children's Hospital of The King's Daughters. (Exact
address not listed to protect confidentiality of clients.)
Founded: January 1995
Annual budget: $600,000
Phone: 622-7478
by CNB