Child Protection

Children's Medical Services understands that child abuse or neglect are complex issues that involve multiple factors. That is why we believe in bringing together experts in many different fields to help protect children. The Child Protection Team (CPT) program is a medically directed, multidisciplinary program that works with local Sheriff's offices and the Department of Children and Family Services in cases of child abuse and neglect to supplement investigation activities.

Child protection teams provide expertise in evaluating alleged child abuse and neglect, assessing risk and protective factors, and providing recommendations for interventions to protect children and enhance a caregiver's capacity to provide a safer environment when possible.

If child abuse or neglect is reported to the Florida Abuse Hotline and accepted for investigation, the case is automatically eligible for Child Protection Team assessment. There are no financial criteria for CPT services.

If you suspect that a child is being abused or neglected, you should call the Florida Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-96-ABUSE (1-800-962-2873).

Child abuse, abandonment and neglect reports to the Hotline that must be referred to Child Protection Teams include cases involving:

1. Injuries to the head, bruises to the neck or head, burns, or fractures in a child of any age.
2. Bruises anywhere on a child 5 years of age or under.
3. Any report alleging sexual abuse of a child.
4. Any sexually transmitted disease in a prepubescent child.
5. Reported malnutrition of a child and failure of a child to thrive.
6. Reported medical neglect of a child.
7. Any family in which one or more children have been pronounced dead on arrival at a hospital or other health care facility, or have been injured and later died, as a result of suspected abuse, abandonment, or neglect, when any sibling or other child remains in the home.
8. Symptoms of serious emotional problems in a child when emotional or other abuse, abandonment, or neglect is suspected.
9. A child who does not live in this state who is currently being evaluated in a medical facility in this state.

Once a referral from the Department of Children and Families or law enforcement has been accepted, the Child Protection Teams may provide one or more of the following services:

• Medical diagnosis and evaluation
• Nursing assessments
• Child and family assessments
• Multidisciplinary staffings
• Psychological and psychiatric evaluations
• Specialized and forensic interviews
• Expert court testimony

Child Protection Team staff also provide training services including:

• Training for child protection investigators and other community providers of child welfare services.
• Training for emergency room staff and other medical providers in the community

Telemedicine is a way of using technology to provide or support clinical care at a distance.  The Child Protection Team Telemedicine Network uses this technology to provide medical assessments for children who are alleged victims of abuse or neglect.

Telemedicine offers benefits from many perspectives, including:

• Increasing the availability of local medical experts to evaluate children alleged to have been abused
• Reducing the number of children who need to travel to a different location for evaluation
• Increasing the number of successful court actions by improving local expert court testimony
• Creating new roles for nursing staff in evaluating these cases
• Increasing training opportunities for local health care providers

Telemedicine works by connecting a child from one location with a health care professional in another location.  A doctor or Advanced Registered Nurse Practitioner located at the “hub” site directs the medical examination.  Meanwhile, a Registered Nurse at the “remote” site greets the child, explains the telemedicine equipment, and assists with the medical examination.  The exam is conducted on the child at the remote site, but through the special telemedicine equipment, medical professionals are able to see the exam and diagnose the child. 

Children's Medical Services (CMS) understands that child sexual abuse can be traumatic on the entire family, The CMS Sexual Abuse Treatment Program (SATP) provides specialized treatment services for children who are victims of sexual abuse, as well as for their families. Through a combination of group, family and individual counseling for child sexual abuse survivors and their families, SATP works to reduce the trauma caused by the child sexual victimization, assist the family to recover from the victimization, prevent further child sexual victimization from occurring, and enable families to have healthy, non-abusive relationships.

Child sexual abuse includes the victimization of a child by sexual activities, including molestation, indecent exposure, fondling, rape and incest. For the purposes of the Sexual Abuse Treatment Program, primary victims will always be the children who have directly suffered the abuse. Secondary victims are minor children, usually siblings, receiving treatment as a result of his/her own reaction/exposure to the abuse directed against a primary victim.

A child who has been sexually abused and whose abuse has generated a Florida Abuse Hotline and/or law enforcement report, is eligible for therapeutic services provided by the Sexual Abuse Treatment Program. Children and their families are primarily referred to the SATP though Child Protection Teams, the Department of Children and Families, law enforcement and community agencies. Individuals and other professionals may also make direct referrals.

The Sexual Abuse Treatment Program operates on the belief that specialized treatment services to children and families will help prevent long-term psychological effects of sexual abuse victimization. The program promotes support of the child victim, increased insight, and encouragement of healthy family relationships. Family members are involved in a treatment plan designed to change the overall interactions within the family to prevent further abuse. A combination of individual and group counseling is used to reduce the trauma of child sexual abuse and to promote healthy family functioning.

What are the Services Provided?

• Prompt Intake Services
• Multidisciplinary Assessments
• Treatment planning
• Specialized individual and group therapy for child survivors, siblings and non-offending caregivers
• Crisis Intervention
• Case Management/Interagency Coordination
• Personal Safety Education
• Prevention/Community Education
• Peer Support
• Outreach
• Community Resources Referral

The Department of Health’s Division of Children’s Medical Services contracts with the three Florida Poison Control Centers, which are part of the Florida Poison Information Center Network (FPICN). Established by Section 395.1027 of the Florida Statutes, the FPICN includes three Certified Regional Poison Control Centers, located in Jacksonville (North), Tampa (Central), and Miami (Southern). These centers operate under the oversight of Children’s Medical Services and are responsible for:

• Providing toll-free access to poison information for the public
• Managing poison cases
• Offering professional consultation to healthcare practitioners
• Delivering prevention education to the public
• Collecting and reporting poison-related data

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