Kids Intervention and Diagnostic Service Center
ANNUAL REPORT 2011
1,802 children and adults directly served through KIDS Center programs 537 adults trained in Darkness to Light 646 referrals made to KIDS Center for children in need of evaluation services 380 child evaluations and consults took place at KIDS Center 478 families received critical family support services 380 children received therapeutic services at KIDS Center Highlights from the year
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nternet Safety Training
We launched this training in 2011 and 161 adults in Central Oregon have been trained to date. Our 2 hour training provides parents and caregivers an awareness of the dangers that exist and how to take simple steps to protect children when online.
B
lue Ribbon - Child Abuse Prevention Month
During the April campaign, volunteers and partners blanketed Central Oregon with almost 50,000 blue ribbons and 32,000 newsletters raising child abuse awareness. We had multiple TV appearances and radio interviews and tied over 2000 ribbons to the trees outside KIDS Center.
Statistics
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exual and physical abuse remain the highest forms of abuse referrals to KIDS Center, 67% were for sexual abuse and 27% were for physical abuse.
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early 88% of alleged perpetrators identified by children evaluated at KIDS Center were either a family member (65%) or someone known to the child (23%) such as a family friend or another adult in the home.
T
his year we received the highest number of referral calls in our history. And while the number of evaluations has slightly decreased from last year, we provided family support services to an additional 233 children that did not require evaluations.
From KIDS Center’s Executive Director
L
ately, I have been asking myself how we measure success. Is it pure data? Is it the results of our client surveys? Are we successful when we caccomplish all our goals and objectives? Or, is it subjective and too elusive to quantify? The dictionary defines success as “the favorable or prosperous termination of attempts or endeavors.” At KIDS Center, we ask the question “What is in the best interest of this child?” before making decisions or moving ahead. When we keep that question at the heart of all we do and when our attempts and endeavors have favorable outcomes for the child and family, I believe it is then that we have reached success. It has been a very busy year for our staff with over 645 referrals from our community partners to schedule medical evaluations for children ages birth to 18. For 95% of those referrals, we performed evaluations and/or provided vital family support and advocacy. The majority of our referrals continue to be for sexual and physical abuse. We also launched an exciting and informative new Internet Safety Training. This training was created as a direct response from youth sharing with us (during their medical evaluations) how often they were receiving or sending sexually graphic images on their cell phones and social networking sites. It’s vital that we all understand how dangerous the Internet can be for children who are without controls or parental involvement. Through our partnership with Deschutes County Behavioral Health, our amazing team of therapists supported a record 360+ children in 2011 as they navigated the road to emotional healing. Providing a wide variety of techniques, caring and professional staff walk beside children and their families, engaging them with tools and resources to build stronger bonds and heal from the trauma they have experienced. I am overwhelmed by how this community has supported our most vulnerable members. I hold hope for the day we are no longer needed, but for now, we will continue to embrace the abused and support their healing and long-term health. We do this without adding the burden of cost to families as all our services are free. As we move forward in our quest to protect and honor children in our community, I implore you to take our Internet Safety Training this year, to be a supportive and loving adult in a child’s life, and to know the warning signs of abuse so that you can be a part of the solution! Shelly Smith