OCFS Online Mandated Reporter Training
The New York State Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS) now offers a no-cost, self-directed, online training program for mandated reporters. Registrants have up to 30 days to complete the training. The program allows users to save their progress at the end of each session. That way they can complete the training at their own pace, either in one sitting or in multiple sessions. This training can be accessed from the OCFS website, http://www.ocfs.state.ny.us/main/ . Click on the
Report/Prevent Child Abuse tab and then choose Mandated Reporter Training from the left menu bar.
Improving Community Healthcare Services for Adolescents Initiative
Columbia University Heilbrunn Department of Population & Family Health (HDPFH) is managing a contract for the Improving Community Healthcare Services for Adolescents Initiative which is funded by the New York State Department of Health. The project is called: NYPATH: New York Promoting and Advancing Teen Health. The purpose of the project is to increase clinician capacity to provide high quality sexual and reproductive healthcare (SRH) and other preventive healthcare services to adolescents. The program offers both onsite and web-based training to health care providers throughout New York State. The website provides evidence-based information and resources about sexual and reproductive health and CME certified web-based training. The website will also offer tools and reference materials, newsletters, and links to other key adolescent resources on the InternetRegistration is FREE and EASY. To access the website, go to www.nypath.org .
To learn more about training opportunities and/or to be added to the e-mail list, you can register for the website and/or contact Judy Lipshutz, MSW, RN, Project Director: jl545@columbia.edu .
National Child Protection Training Center
The National Child Protection Training Center (NCPTC) is a training program of the National Association to Prevent Sexual Abuse of Children (NAPSAC). Learn more about the training center at www.ncptc.org/ . The NCPTC offers online training the third Thursday of the month at 2:00pm Central Standard Time Zone. Learn more about these webinars. The NCPTC also has a Speakers Bureau. The speakers are nationally recognized in their respective disciplines and come from all areas of the child protection community, including prosecution, law enforcement, child protective services, mental and physical health and victims advocacy. Learn more about the
Speakers Bureau.
Ann S. Botash, MD, and the Child Abuse Referral and Evaluation (CARE) Program at Golisano Children’s Hospital have developed procedural checklists to help pediatric medical providers and Emergency Department staffs provide appropriate care when child abuse is suspected. These checklists are in PDF format and can be downloaded for clinical use. They can be reproduced for educational purposes with attribution to Ann S. Botash, MD, and the CARE Program for the Child Abuse Medical Provider Program.
Ann S. Botash, MD, has created a Staying Positive While Parenting series of seven pamphlets to help parents and caregivers better understand and cope with some of the frustrations of parenting and "step back" from their child’s frustrating behavior. The topics covered are colic, nighttime awakening, separation anxiety, normal negativism, normal poor appetite, exploring and testing, and toilet training. In addition, there is a summary of survival tips designed to be a refrigerator magnet. The pamphlets are designed to be given as part of anticipatory guidance during a well-child visit. The series can be used to augment the AAP’s Practicing Safety toolkit that helps detect maternal depression and improve anticipatory guidance to avoid child abuse.
The original version of this series, which includes a hotline number, is suitable for professionals in the Upstate and Central New York area. Download these
pamphlets and magnet (PDF).
A revised version that does not include the hotline reference is suitable for all other locations. Download the
generic pamphlets and generic magnet (PDF).
Ann S. Botash, MD, has written an article on vaginitis that has just been published in the online resource eMedicine. Learn more about diagnosing and treating vaginitis, http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/797392-overview
The National Child Protection Training Center (NCPTC) offers online publications and newsletters, including CenterPiece, which provides practical information to assist front line child protection professionals, and ChildFirst, a quarterly forensic interviewing newsletter. Learn more about these online publications.
Portable Guides to Investigating Child Abuse, produced in 2007, is a series of practical references that provide basic information on the most critical aspects of investigations involving child abuse, neglect and exploitation. They are written by experts to assist law enforcement and other professionals in determining whether a child has been abused or exploited and collecting evidence necessary for effective prosecution. Each guide addresses a specific topic. There are 13 titles, including burn injuries, sexual exploitation, diagnostic imaging, interviewing techniques, and photo documentation. Most of the guides are available online in PDF format. They are also available in hard copy for reasonable cost. Learn more about these portable guides or
download an information sheet (PDF).
The New York State Coalition Against Sexual Assault (NYSCASA) has produced a series of fact sheets, one-page sheets that provide quick facts and statistics on a number of subjects. View the list of these fact sheets.
In June 1999, the American College of Emergency Physicians (www.acep.org) produced Evaluation and Management of the Sexually Assaulted or Sexually Abused Patient. This handbook contains a chapter, Pediatric/Adolescent Patient (pages 47-64), that includes a Pediatric/Adolescent Sexual Abuse Forensic Medical Report (pages 53-58). This report can act as a template for dictation or guide the development of a medical report form. It is available at
http://www.acep.org/workarea/downloadasset.aspx?id=8984 (PDF).
CHAMP has produced a handout on the Top Ten Reasons Why Children and Adolescents Suspected of Being Sexually Abused Need Medical Evaluations
PDF
Websites
Child Abuse Evaluation & Treatment for Medical Providers is a comprehensive web–based source of child abuse information that offers tools and resources with which to diagnose and manage child and adolescent abuse victims. It is a resource for medical providers who do not have a background or expertise in child abuse pediatrics and are striving to develop best practice standards for their patient care setting. It is available at http://www.childabusemd.com/ .
The Academy on Violence and Abuse (AVA) advances health education and research on the prevention, recognition, treatment and health effects of violence and abuse. It strives to integrate knowledge about violence and abuse into the training of all health professionals, promote the health of all people, protect the most vulnerable, and advance health and social policy that promotes safe families, workplaces and communities with an end goal to ultimately minimize the health effects of violence and abuse. It is available at http://www.avahealth.org/ .
The Forensic Nurse Guide is a web-based resource designed to assist those in the beginning and middle stages of their forensic nursing careers. It provides a short overview and links to resources for ten topics, including primary sexual violence prevention, children’s safety resources and evidence-based nursing. It is available at http://www.forensicnursing.org/ .
Child Abuse and Children with Disabilities: A New York State Perspective, created in 2007, provides information about working with children with special needs and their families. It outlines basic information for all members of the multidisciplinary team related to child characteristics and strategies or "reasonable accommodations" that may be needed in investigative and/or support procedures. It is available at http://childabuse.tc.columbia.edu .
Introducing the revitalized www.stopbullying.gov website.The new site
emphasizes action steps individuals can take to prevent and stop bullying
in their schools and communities. It also features easy-to-use tools and
resources for community leaders, young people and families, including:
How to recognize the warning signs and when to take action
Tips to prevent bullying before it starts
How to implement strategies for intervention
Ways to share your community’s resources, policies or strategies to prevent and address bullying
