Child Abuse Resource and Evaluation Team
The CARE (Child Abuse Resource and Evaluation) Team primarily provides medical forensic services to children with concerns for physical abuse, sexual abuse and neglect. The team consists of two board-certified child abuse pediatricians, forensic nurse examiners, social workers and support staff with involvement from hospital administration.
The team works closely with numerous medical subspecialists while providing the following services to children and their families being evaluated and treated by the CARE Team, Emergency Department and Trauma Services:
Common referrals for evaluation by the CARE Team include:
- Head injury
- Fractures
- Burns
- Sexual assault
- Internet exploitation
- Drug ingestion
- Poisoning
- Failure to thrive
- Torture
- Medical child abuse
- Medical neglect
The following services are provided on an inpatient and outpatient basis 24 hours a day:
- Comprehensive medical examinations for concerns of abuse:
- Fractures
- Head injury
- Burns
- Bruises
- Involuntary drug ingestion
- Failure to thrive
- Neglect
- Medical child abuse
- Forensic photo-documentation
- A comprehensive, written assessment of the evaluation is provided including detailed documentation of injuries and medical diagnoses.
- Comprehensive, medical forensic examination for concerns of sexual assault including:
- Detailed verbatim history
- Complete head to toe assessment
- Visualization of the genitalia with a colposcope
- Collection of potential DNA recovery
- Provision of prophylactic antibiotics for STI’s, HIV-PEP and emergency contraception as indicated
Social work intervention includes:
- Psychosocial assessment of families
- Crisis intervention
- Prevention education
An outreach component which provides:
- Expert and fact witness testimony
- Professional education
- Community awareness
Liaison/collaboration with community multidisciplinary agencies:
- Children’s Advocacy Center of the Coastal Bend
- Law enforcement
- Child Protective Services
- County, district and federal attorneys
Visit all your child's specialists in one trip to Driscoll Children's Hospital.
For your convenience, please ask any of our specialty clinics to coordinate all of your child's appointments in one day.
You can contact us at (361) 694-5000 or call your specialty clinic directly for further assistance.