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It is estimated that one in every four girls and one in every seven boys will be a victims of sexual abuse in Indian Country. The immediate and extended family will also suffer the pain that the child victim feels, but it may not be openly discussed. One of the inherent strengths that Native people have is their natural support system (culture) that can assist in victim recovery. Quality of life and the quality of medical care available to American Indian and Alaskan Native child victims of abuse can be influenced. Since 1989, the Federal Crime Victims Division within the Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) has provided funding to American Indian Tribes to improve the investigation, prosecution, and handling of child abuse cases (particularly sexual abuse cases) that limits additional trauma to the victim.

In 2002, this organization also funded the Indian Health Service and Office for Victims of Crime (IHS/OVC) Child Abuse Project, which provides training for medical providers in Indian Country in the area of child maltreatment with emphasis on sexual and physical abuse. Beginning in 2005, the Indian Health Service will provide funding for this training program now called the Indian Health Service Child Abuse Project.

The Indian Health Service Child Abuse Project (IHS Child Abuse Project) has demonstrated over the past 4 years its effectiveness in reaching this vulnerable and hidden population (child victims of abuse and neglect); providing medical evaluation where they live, in a timely, affordable, sensitive and confidential manner, while bringing state of the art technology and a high standard of care to rural and isolated areas. This project is supported by many individuals at many levels, including the Indian Health Service, Office for Victims of Crime, the service units and Tribes who sent participants, the vendors of the hardware and software utilized by the project, and the compassion and dedication of the project’s participants and well-known national faculty.

What's New?

A partnership was developed between Primary Children's Medical Center's Center for Safe and Healthy Families (Salt Lake City, Utah) and the IHS Child Abuse Project to jointly provide the didactic training activities for the May 2005 conference.

The Center for Safe and Healthy Families will provide many things such as diverse and in-depth subject matter expertise, location for the didactic training, clerical support, computers for the software lab, and will function as a preceptorship site. The Child Trauma Treatment Network - Intermountain West and a local Native American spiritual leader will present the cultural component on how Native America culture, practices, and beliefs influence and affect the child victim and family. Primary Children's Medical Center's contribution is invaluable and greatly appreciated. Attorneys from the Utah State Attorney General's Office and the U. S. Attorney's Office will conduct the mock trial.

The Project provides equipment, training, and resources to medical providers within the Indian Health Service and Tribal programs on the medical evaluation of child abuse. It is an example of a successful pilot project implemented on the Northern Ute Indian Reservation in Utah in 1995. This was the first program in Utah outside of the University of Utah (Primary Children’s Medical Center) to utilize telemedicine for the evaluation of child victims of abuse. Now this same model of care delivery is used by the state of Utah’s Children’s Advocacy Centers.

A cadre of providers in IHS and Tribal programs have been trained and continue to be trained in this intensive and comprehensive two year program. Trained providers work in the community they serve and this community linkage is critical for building this framework for primary prevention and after care. They also act as a resource for local law enforcement, social services, clergy, schools, and court systems. The evaluation is a billable service and the resources of the project are available during and after completion of the program. Needed medical treatment for any physical injuries or conditions and referral to the mental health, social service, or other care system can be accomplished quickly and locally, and medical evaluation is provided someone the child victim and family are familiar with and who is culturally sensitive. Consultation if needed is readily available via the latest technology.

Since the Project began in 2000, it has significantly impacted Indian Country through the establishment of an infrastructure of trained child abuse professionals, the elevation and standardization of the quality of medical care provided to Native American/Alaskan Native child victims of abuse (best practices), a database of child abuse statistics has been established, and the collection of cases in this project establishes the beginning of a national library for such data specific to this population.

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