Chadwick Center for Children & Families at Rady Children ’ s Hospital
The Chadwick Center for Children & Families believes that every child and family has the right to be safe and supported after experiencing a traumatic event to help them move toward healing .
As the largest children ’ s advocacy center in San Diego County , the Chadwick Center plays a critical role in the response to child abuse and neglect through coordination of the San Diego County Child Victim- Witness Protocol and the Child Protection Team . They support child abuse investigations by conducting forensic interviews and medical exams when a child is suspected to have experienced sexual abuse , physical abuse or other types of traumas . The Chadwick Center provides immediate victim support and advocacy to ensure that the child and their non-offending caregivers get access to multiple resources and support services ( emergency assistance , safe and stable housing , short and long-term mental health services ).
POWER OF COLLABORATION
It is estimated that one out of four children experience some type of abuse before the age of 18 . An average of five children a day dies from abuse and neglect . In 2021 , Rady Children ’ s Hospital-San Diego staff made more than 2,150 mandated reports of child abuse to Child Welfare Services . There were 3,720 total cases of child abuse throughout San Diego County in 2021 .
As overwhelming as the idea of abuse and neglect is , trauma counseling works . At the Chadwick Center , they provide short- and long-term trauma-focused therapy services to children ( 0-18 ) and their non-offending caregivers . The Center ’ s therapists are skilled at using therapy practices to help children manage their traumatic stress reactions , including nightmares , aggression , anxiety and distractibility , while lowering their risk of depression , self-harm and suicidality .
POWER OF THE ESSENTIAL
Child maltreatment is a nationwide epidemic . It is one that we do not talk about enough and that as a society we have difficulty wrapping our heads around . Our tendency is to presume that only monsters could harm children – not our neighbors , not our friends and family , and certainly not ourselves . What we all need to recognize is that most child maltreatment is the result of a loss of control , a response to extreme frustration and a lack of emotional reserves — a time in which people react in a way that is uncharacteristic of who they are .
In 1975 , Dr . David Chadwick and a group of professionals throughout San Diego came together to create a better system for identifying and responding to child abuse and neglect . Dr . Chadwick dedicated his 60-year career to addressing child abuse and neglect , successfully pushing for our society to address all forms of child abuse and neglect , rather than focusing on sexual abuse . In 1985 , David founded the San Diego Children ’ s Hospital Center for Child Protection , which is now the Chadwick Center . He drafted the original model child abuse reporting law and was instrumental in its adoption in California .
POWER OF PHILANTHROPY
We live in a community where kindness and generosity empower us to continue San Diego ’ s grandest commitment to the children of our community .
The essential services delivered by the Chadwick Center can only exist through the power of grace , understanding and support that has been the hallmark of the Charity Ball ’ s support of Rady Children ’ s Hospital . Your philanthropy will support these and other programs that keep the Chadwick Center at the forefront of helping these children .
98 GBSAN . COM | DECEMBER 2022