The Hoops Family Children’s Hospital (HFCH) Child Advocacy Center (CAC) has been awarded accreditation by National Children’s Alliance following an extensive application and site review process. The CAC is the only hospital-based child advocacy center in the region.
As the accrediting agency for Children’s Advocacy Centers (CAC) across the country, National Children’s Alliance awards various levels of accreditation and membership to centers responding to allegations of child abusein ways that are effective and efficient, and put the needs of child victims of abuse first. Accreditation is the highest level of membership with National Children’s Alliance and denotes excellence in service provision.
“The CAC was developed at HFCH in 2017 to provide children and families with compassionate care to reduce the trauma often experienced by children who are victims of abuse,” said Marie Frazier, MD, medical director for the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit and the CAC. She is also an associate professor at the Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine in the Department of Pediatrics. “We are honored to be an accredited member of the National Children’s Alliance.”
National Children’s Alliance awards accredited membershipbased on a CAC’s compliance with 10 national standards of accreditation to ensure effective, efficient and consistent delivery of services to child abuse victims. National Children’s Alliance updated these standards in 2017 to reflect the most recent evidence-based practices in the field of child abuse intervention and prevention. According to these standards, accredited members must utilize a functioning and effective multidisciplinary team approach to work collaboratively in child abuse investigation, prosecution, and treatment. National Children’s Alliance also considers standards regarding a center’s cultural competency and diversity, forensic interviews, victim support and advocacy, medical evaluation, therapeutic intervention, and child focused setting.
“As a team of individuals dedicated to responding to child abuse, we recognize the importance of accreditation from National Children’s Alliance and supporting the multidisciplinary team approach,” said Melanie Akers, director of the Hoops Family Children’s Hospital. “Accreditation not only validates our organization’s proven effective approach to responding to allegations of child abuse, but also provides consistency across the child advocacy center movement as a whole.”
“The Hoops Family Children’s Hospital Child Advocacy Center is to be commended for its excellent work serving victims of child abuse,” said Teresa Huizar, executive director of the National Children’s Alliance. “As the national association and accrediting body for Children’s Advocacy Centers across the country, our goal is to ensure that every victim of child abuse has access to high quality services that result from professional collaboration,”
National Children’s Alliance makes one big difference, one child and one voice at a time. As the nonprofit association and accrediting body providing comprehensive care through hundreds of Children’s Advocacy Centers nationwide, we unify and amplify our voices to command better outcomes. With a forward-thinking approach that stays at the forefront of every child’s future, we are the beginning of child abuse’s end. For more information, visit nationalchildrensalliance.org.
For more information about the HFCH Child Advocacy Center, contact Angela Seay, child advocacy coordinator, at 304.526.2349.
About Hoops Family Children’s Hospital
The Hoops Family Children’s Hospital (HFCH) is a 71-bed children’s hospital located within Cabell Huntington Hospital, a 303-bed teaching hospital for Marshall University Schools of Medicine, Pharmacy and Nursing in Huntington, West Virginia. Cabell Huntington Hospital is a member of Mountain Health Network, Inc., which includes St. Mary’s Medical Center, a 393-bed teaching hospital that operates St. Mary’s Schools of Nursing, Respiratory Care and Medical Imaging. HFCH includes a 36-bed Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, a 25-bed General Pediatrics Unit, a 10-bed Pediatric Intensive Care Unit and a Neonatal Therapeutic Unit.
