Live Supervision > > > Live Supervision Services

< < Synchronous Service > >

SUMMARY > >

Current expansion Program map.

Improved communications and consultation among centers and improved supervision of isolated ARNP's does not solve the problems encountered in geographic areas where these resources do not exist. This is especially true where travel distances and staffing challenges of investigative agencies preclude the routine transportation of children with allegations of abuse to a center. For these areas, we propose development of synchronous (live, real-time) supervision of local specially trained personnel by an expert at a distant site.

This program will serve as a pilot project to allow links between sites where medical care is generally sought by patients who may have been abused, and centers with expertise in evaluating injuries related to abuse. The goals of the program are:

Increase local medical expertise in evaluating children with allegations of abuse to:
- Reduce unnecessary transportation of patients to a distant center for evaluation.
- Reduce reporting of cases where findings are not indicative of abuse.
- Reduce unnecessary investigation of cases
- Reduce the involvement and time commitments of investigative personnel.
- Provide immediate expert consultation in suspected cases.
Reduce investigative workload and transportation requirements of local law enforcement and Children and Families personnel.
Increase the accuracy of investigative techniques resulting in:
- A reduction in the number of families investigated unnecessarily.
- An increase in successful court action, when necessary, by improving expert court testimony.

Proposed program High-Speed Wide Band Links will be developed between two established centers for the evaluation of child abuse and neglect. One of these centers also has the expertise to assist in the evaluation of adult sexual assault as well as child abuse. These centers, combined, can provide 24-hour coverage of an extended network by personnel already recognized by the court system and by the state Child Protection Team Program. The centers selected for this pilot program are the Gainesville Child Protection Team and Children's Crisis Center in Jacksonville.

Primary evaluation sites are being selected based on demonstrated need determined by caseload or because of geographic or technical factors related to existing hardware links. These sites will be linked using existing and newly developed resources of the Florida Department of Management Services. Each site will designate a location for a roll around and desktop unit which would provide capability for viewing of injuries, viewing of culposcopic findings, x-rays, one-to-one history taking from patients, and live consultation with medical personnel.

Each location will provide a group of medical personnel for training in the management of alleged abuse cases under direct supervision to allow for 24-hour coverage at the local level. Similar training in the operation of equipment would be provided. Training, supervision and equipping the primary and secondary sites will be the responsibility of Children's Medical Services, Department of Health. Training will be provided utilizing a teleconferencing format being developed by the synchronous/asynchronous project of the University of Florida. Advantages for primary sites Primary sites, such as those selected for this project, are constantly challenged with the legal and medical complexities attendant to evaluating abused children. Immediate consultation is rarely available and the law enforcement and court requirements surrounding all of these cases are severely taxing in a busy emergency department. This project would provide at least a partial solution. In addition, if nursing personnel were trained to provide these services in non-emergent cases, physicians would be allowed more time for actual emergencies.

Current expansion of the program map.

For more information please contact the program director Dr. Jay Whitworth
jwhitworth@abusenet.org