Calgary Health Region
Child Abuse Services

The Child Abuse Service at the Alberta Children’s Hospital (ACH) provides clinical assessment, treatment, consultation, professional training and research services for child abuse victims, families and their caregivers. The program is recognized as one of the largest and leading multidisciplinary, hospital-based, programs in Canada. As such, the program is committed to the ongoing education and training of service providers in the child abuse profession.

The CAS is a multidisciplinary service that consists of social workers, psychologists, clinical nurses, and pediatricians providing tertiary level clinical intervention to children, primarily under the age of twelve and families who have experienced physical, sexual or emotional abuse. Family’s can self refer and require a physician referral for medical services only.

Mandate:

Services to children:

• Psychosocial assessment and treatment services for children believed to have experienced maltreatment or are at risk of abuse.
• Group treatment for children i.e. Kids in Care group, social skills group, victim of abuse groups.
• Medical services including Sexual Abuse Clinic and Child Abuse Developmental Clinic.

Services to parents:

• Parental risk assessments to determine parental capacity and risk to child.
• Individual treatment to address issues related to maltreatment.
• Group treatment for parents i.e. Anger Management group, Behavior Management group.

Services to families:

• Family therapy to address issues related to maltreatment.
• Advocacy to families regarding access to hospital and community services.

Types of Services:

Following the Intake process, each case is assessed and triaged for services based on a variety of criteria including acute nature of abuse, risk to child and families, age of child and level of crisis.

• Crisis Response: immediate services to children and families presenting with medical concerns and/or referred from ACH Emergency or ICU; families assessed at high risk due to the disclosure of abuse; child assessed to be at high risk by caretaker and coordination of services required.
• Fast Track Clinic: timely response available for families experiencing primarily extrafamilial abuse and provided time limited therapy.
• Individual Assessment and Treatment: waitlist for assignment to therapist to address identified issues.
• Team Assessment: offered monthly to families experiencing complex, multiproblem issues related to either current or historic abuse issues.
• Sexual Abuse Clinic and Developmental Clinic: medical assessment for non-acute cases.

In 2004/2005 year, the Child Abuse Service received approximately 600 referrals. At any given time, the GAS is actively involved in approximately 250 cases and provides consultations and community referrals to those not accepted into the program. Unfortunately, the continued demand for services has created a wait list and waiting periods can vary from immediate to up to 12 to 15 weeks depending on nature of referral and services. Each case is assessed individually and triaged as necessary.

The CAS recognizes that there is no single cause of child abuse. Rather, abuse is the outcome of a complex set of interacting factors, including biological and psychological characteristics of the abuser, characteristics of the child, and characteristics of the family and social environment in which they live.

The family is the most powerful influence in the child’s environment and therefore the most powerful influence on the extent and quality of the child’s growth and development. The family is responsible for providing an environment which supports child growth and development. Therefore, much of the treatment provided in the CAS is based on principles of family centered-care.