History

The national Indian Health Service Child Abuse Project evolved from a very successful local pilot project designed and implemented through the Ft. Duchesne Indian Health Center in Ft. Duchesne, Utah, in 1995. The implementation of this project resolved these problems faced by child victims of abuse: (1) lack of funds and transportation to travel to obtain this service 150 miles away, (2) the road through the mountain pass to obtain these services is often closed in the winter, (3) the child victim and family must leave their home community and their support systems to obtain care, (4) time and distance required to get to services and wait for appointment often left no evidence to recover, and (5) services available were expert but may not be culturally sensitive. In its first year alone of operation, it is estimated that this project saved the Uintah and Ouray Service Unit of Indian Health Service approximately $ 50,000 in referrals (including fees for service and travel expenses). In this project's past eight years of implementation, this savings is estimated in excess of $ 400,000.00.

The IHS Child Abuse Project at the Ft. Duchesne Indian Health Center was the first site outside of Primary Children's Medical Center in Salt Lake City in the state of Utah to utilize the computerized store and forward technology in the field of child sexual abuse. Thus, the child victim must endure only one medical examination to obtain a diagnosis and other expert medical opinions as needed. The medical examination findings are documented by a camera attached to a colposcope or free standing and these photos are put into a computer via specialized software called Second Opinion. This software organizes these photos and patient data into a folder which can be sent to an established pool of national child abuse experts via modem or e-mail (with encryption and encoding) to obtain an immediate opinion or for peer review purposes at no cost to the child victim or family. Currently the Utah State Attorney General's Office has adopted this model of care delivery for the state's Children's Advocacy Centers which are linked to Primary Children's Medical Center in Salt Lake City via this type of system.

Since 2000, the IHS/OVC project has received almost $ 450,000 dollars from the Office for Victims of Crime to expand to other Indian Health Service and Alaskan Native sites and to incorporate a strong cultural component into the training of participating medical providers. In the two-year cycle that began in 2000, the classroom training was conducted in Boise, Idaho, with the cultural component provided by a Navajo Traditional Specialist and Healer. For this cycle, the Project partnered with the American Indian Information Network for administrative assistance. In the two-year cycle that began in October 2003, the classroom training was conducted at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, with a partnership with the University's Project Making Medicine to provide a strong cultural component, subject matter presentations by experts, and administrative assistance.

OVC funding for this project ended December 31, 2004. For the 2005-2006 cycle of the project, the Indian Health Service in Washington, DC, has generously provided the needed amount. For this reason and as of January 1, 2005, the project is officially called the Indian Health Service (IHS) Child Abuse Project. Also for the 2005-6 cycle, the project's partner is Primary Children's Medical Center's Center for Safe and Healthy Families in Salt Lake City, Utah, and will provide the location, subject matter presentations by experts, administrative assistance, and project support.