Child Advocacy Program (CAP)
Compassionate Care for Victims of Child Abuse in East Tennessee
Everyone in Tennessee is a mandated reporter under state law. Any person with reasonable cause to believe a child is being abused or neglected must, under the law, immediately report to the Tennessee Department of Children's Services or to local law enforcement.
Our Child Advocacy Program (CAP) team works with other staff and families to identify children with concerns of abuse or neglect. These concerns can be due to over or under performance of parental duties. The issues can range from failure to thrive to obesity, failure to protect from harm to causing physical harm, and emotional neglect to emotional harm.
Compassionate Assistance & Treatment
Children are usually referred to the CAP team through the Social Work Department at East Tennessee Children's Hospital by their healthcare provider or other community agencies. The variety of problems the team may see vary widely. The physicians and social work coordinate care with other specialists to ensure that each child and family receives the medical care that they need.
Drawing on Community Resources
Child maltreatment can be a delicate matter. Our team uses community resources to improve care for all patients. These resources include the Department of Child Services, family lawyers, court-appointed special advocates, and local child advocacy centers.
Children's Hospital has been coordinating the medical evaluation and treatment of potential maltreatment for almost 30 years. Child abuse Pediatrics has been a specialty certified by the American Board of Pediatrics since 2009. Dr. Palmer and Dr. Perales are both certified in this field, to be sure that every evaluation of this difficult concern is given careful consideration. The CAP team strives to be a voice for the child and a support to the families.
For more information about the Child Advocacy Pediatric team, contact East Tennessee Children's Hospital CAP Social Work (865-541-8323), Dr. Palmer (865-541-8373), or Dr. Perales (865-541-8756).
