Child Abuse and Neglect
The Child Abuse and Neglect Consult Service is dedicated to the following mission:
- to provide medical consultation and guidance to health care professionals referring child abuse and neglect cases,
- to establish standards and clinical procedures for child abuse/neglect medical evaluations,
- to provide teaching and training about medical, social and legal aspects of child abuse and neglect,
- to administer the NC Child Medical Evaluation Program within the Duke Health System,
- to record and maintain statistics of referred cases of child abuse and neglect,
- to conduct child abuse/neglect research,
- to develop resource materials for teaching/education,
- to provide expert medical testimony related to Duke child abuse and neglect cases,
- to establish affiliations with mental health, domestic violence, drug rehabilitation and prevention programs which could impact child abuse and neglect outcomes.
Treatments / Patient Care Services
Inpatient Services
Medical consultations for concerns of child abuse and neglect are available to all DUMC inpatient pediatric services, emergency department services and DUHS affiliated clinics serving children. Referrals are recommended when there are concerns of child physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, neglect, or dependency. Evidence-based child abuse/neglect medical assessments are provided by Board Certified Primary Care Pediatricians who have received specialized training in the assessment of all forms of child abuse and neglect.
Consultations are provided by means of a 24/7 on-call service which provides rapid medical assessments and comprehensive conclusions and recommendations that address the medical, social, mental health, safety and legal issues of the case. Inpatient child abuse/neglect consults are initiated within 24 hours by the on-call child abuse physician. Emergency room and outpatient clinic referrals are scheduled to be seen within 24-48 hours at the Duke Child Abuse and Neglect Medical Evaluation Clinic (CANMEC).
Child Abuse/Neglect Consultants work closely with primary medical teams and other consulting services in developing comprehensive differential diagnoses, providing recommendations for indicated studies and referrals, coordinating information from consultants and investigating agencies, assisting with mandated reporting, safety issues and discharge planning, and providing final impressions and recommendations concerning abuse or neglect.
Outpatient Services
Outpatient referrals for child abuse/neglect evaluations are scheduled through the Duke Child Abuse and Neglect Medical Evaluation Clinic (CANMEC). Medical assessment services include a comprehensive medical evaluation with interview of the referring agency member, separate interviews with the caretaker(s) and the child, thorough medical examination with colposcope genital/anal exam, photo-documentation of physical findings, weekly case review of all referred cases, final medical report including diagnoses and medical, social, mental health, and safety recommendations. Medical evaluations are provided by Board Certified Primary Care Pediatricians who have received specialized training in the assessment of all forms of child abuse and neglect. Child and caretaker interviews are provided by experienced clinical social worker interviewers or child abuse physicians.
Emergency outpatient referrals from medical providers and local agency representatives can be made by paging the DUMC 24/7 on-call child abuse consultant service. Emergency referrals include calls from community health care providers or local agencies such as Durham County Child Protective Services and Durham Law Enforcement when rapid and coordinated child abuse and neglect services are needed for community children. In these cases, the on-call child abuse physician is able to divert appropriate child abuse and neglect cases away from the busy local Emergency Departments and into the more appropriate setting of the outpatient child abuse medical clinic.
Standard outpatient referrals are
scheduled through the CANMEC Clinic at: 919-479-2690.
Physicians and Staff
Physicians
| Name | Areas of Special Interest |
|---|---|
| Aditee P. Narayan, MD, MPH | Medical evaluations for child abuse and neglect, general pediatrics, and medical education |
| Karen S. St. Claire, MD | Primary care pediatrics, evaluations for child physical abuse, sexual abuse, neglect |
Staff
| Name | Areas of Special Interest/Role |
|---|---|
| Scott Snider, LCSW Clinical Coordinator Clinical Social Worker |
Development of a medical model CAC, multidisciplinary and multi-agency response to community child abuse/neglect issues, tracking and outcomes of child abuse/neglect cases. |
|
Wendy Craven, RN, FNE
Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner
|
Pathology of sexual offenders, relationship of victim injuries to offender profiles, relationship of PTSD to victim profile, assessing the incompatible medical history. |
| Sherrill Thorpe, LPN
Child Abuse Clinic Nurse |
Child and family support. |
Clinic Hours and Location
4020 N. Roxboro Street
Durham, NC 27704
Tel: 919-479-2690
Fax: 919-471-2531
Clinic Hours:
Monday, Wednesday, Friday, 8:00 am to 12:00 pm
Monday, Thursday, 1:00pm to 5:00pm
Appointments and Contact Information
To serve our patients and referring physicians, child abuse pediatricians are always on call to answer questions and provide consultation.
- For emergency cases and urgent child abuse/neglect referrals, medical providers and local agency representatives can contact the on-call child abuse consultant by paging the 24/7 Child Abuse Consult pager at 919-970-0989.
- Patients and family members are encouraged to work with their primary medical providers concerning referral for a child abuse medical evaluation or they can contact the Duke Child Abuse Clinical Coordinator at 919-479-2690.
Related Child Abuse and Neglect Services
WakeMed Child Sexual Abuse Team 919-350-7810
The Beacon Program, UNC Hospital 919-966-9314
Related Links
- American Academy of Pediatrics, Section on Child Abuse and Neglect
- American Academy of Pediatrics, Committee on Child Abuse and Neglect
- American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children
- Center for Child and Family Health-NC
- International Society for Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect
- National Traumatic Brain Injury Network
- National Child Traumatic Stress Network
- Prevent Child Abuse America
- Prevent Child Abuse North Carolina
- Triangle United Way
