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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Recorded presentation

Amy L. Spurlock, PhD, RN, School of Nursing, Troy University, 400 Pell Avenue, Troy, AL 36082, 334-670-3437, alspurlock@troy.edu and Mona Watson, MEd, Pike Regional Child Advocacy Center, 118 West Orange Street, Troy, AL 36081.

Child abuse and neglect occurs daily, in every community, and knows no racial, ethnic, religious or income boundaries. In 2003, there were an estimated 2.9 million referrals alleging child abuse or neglect in the U. S. in 2003, with 906,000 determined to be victims of neglect (60%), physical abuse (20%), sexual abuse (20%), or emotional maltreatment (5%). In seven rural counties in southeast Alabama, 0.76% of children, averaged over four years of data, were found to have indication of abuse. There was a clear need for the structured, collaborative and convenient services that a local Child Advocacy Center would provide to child victims and their families. The local Child Advocacy Center (CAC) was created formally in early 2004 to assist in lessening the trauma and healing the hurt of abused children and their families by coordinating investigation, interviewing, therapy, victim services, and prosecution in a child friendly environment. Instrumental in the creation of the CAC was an academic-community partnership between the CAC and a local university. Academic-community partnerships are formal or informal collaborations between academic institutions and community agencies to achieve common goals. Positive outcomes have been documented in studies relating to many populations, including children, older adults and high-risk aggregates. A case study will be presented outlining the creation of this partnership, as well as the mutual benefits.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of this session, the learner will be able to

• Identify the statistics associated with child abuse in the United States.
• Describe the outcomes in the literature associated with child advocacy centers.
• Evaluate the benefits of forming academic-community partnerships through the use of a case study.

Keywords: Advocacy, Child/Adolescent

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Any relevant financial relationships? No

Recorded presentation