The Chadwick
Center provides a continuum of services with an integrated, multidisciplinary
approach to healing intervention and family support. Outcome evaluation is an
integral component of all services.
Family Support Services
The Family Support Program (FSP) helps families
who are overburdened with a variety of stresses such as unemployment, single
parenthood, or inadequate housing overcome their difficulties and function
better as a family unit. As a result, FSP also helps prevent and reduce child
neglect, abuse, or other maltreatment. The program uses home, community, and
center-based services. It serves as both a prevention and early intervention
service that provides support, modeling, and education so that the family has a
better chance of succeeding in their community.
Family Violence Program
The Chadwick Center’s Family Violence Program (FVP)
is located at the San Diego Family Justice Center in downtown San Diego. The
Family Justice Center, which opened in October 2002, is a place where victims of
domestic violence can access many services in one location. In 2004, the FVP was
invited to join the Family Justice Center team and provides an array of services
to victims and their children.
Forensic and Medical Services
Children who may have been sexually or
physically abused or witnesses to violence are seen by professionals at the
Chadwick Center’s Forensic and Medical Services program, located on the Rady
Children’s Hospital-San Diego campus. San Diego County law enforcement agencies
and the County Department of Health and Human Services regularly refer these
children to this program. The aim of the Forensic and Medical Services program
is to assist the children to provide verbal or physical evidence of the possible
abuse they suffered or witnessed. There are two main types of Forensic and
Medical Services offered by the Chadwick Center: forensic interviews and
forensic medical exams.
Kids and Teens
In Court Program
In
cooperation with the Family Protection Unit at the District Attorney's Office
the Juvenile Dependency Court, and the Victim Advocacy Program, the Kids and
Teens in Court program helps children, teenagers, and their caregivers who are
not suspected of abuse learn how the courtroom and possible trial works. Program
goals for the children and teenagers include reducing their stress and anxiety;
improving their coping skills by teaching them to manage their thoughts,
feelings, and behaviors; and making it possible for them to effectively testify
in court and gain control of the court experience. Program goals for these
caretakers include increasing caregiver coping skills, and allowing the adults
to manage their own thoughts, feelings, and behaviors in order to fully support
their child or teen through the court process and recovery.
Professional
Education Services
The Chadwick Center offers accredited
Professional Education to those involved in fields of prevention, investigation,
diagnosis, treatment, and prosecution of child abuse and family violence. Since
its beginning in 1976, the Chadwick Center has trained more than 100,000
professionals from all fifty states and over forty countries.
Major educational activities include the annual
San Diego International Conference on Child and Family Maltreatment; the
Clinical Training Program for visiting physicians, the weekly
multidisciplinary Child Protection Team Case Conference, and various
local, county, and state trainings funded through contracts.
Trauma
Counseling Services
The Trauma Counseling
Program is committed to treating the after-effects of a child’s traumatic
experience. In addition, the program works to support the recovery of family
members and to improve their ability to support the child. Interventions include
individual, group, and family therapy. The staff of the Trauma Counseling
Program is primarily composed of Licensed Clinical Social Workers, Marriage and
Family Therapists, and Psychologists. The staff’s expertise is in treating
childhood traumatic events including neglect; physical and sexual abuse; sexual
assault; domestic, school, and community violence; and natural disasters.
Treatment for the psychological aspects of medical trauma and chronic pain is
also available.
Child
Maltreatment Research Center
The Child
Maltreatment Research Center, new in 2002, conducts research on the prevention,
diagnosis and treatment of child maltreatment. The Chadwick Center will be able
to use its diverse staff, services and client families to organize research
studies of national significance.
