An event on Monday, Jan. 22, at Penn State's University Park campus will focus on how a clinic visit with a 6-year-old girl grew into a National Institutes of Health-sponsored, five-year randomized controlled trial.
“If it’s never on your radar screen, you’re never going to see it.” That’s the philosophy that drives Dr. Lori Frasier, director of the Penn State Center for the Protection of Children and division chief of child abuse pediatrics at Penn State Children’s Hospital, in her efforts to better train pediatricians and other clinicians to be aware of clues that might suggest abuse.
What do you do when you’re out in public and you witness what you believe to be child abuse? In many situations, the standard suggestions are easier said than done, according to Dr. Lori Frasier, director of the Center for the Protection of Children at Penn State Children’s Hospital.
Penn State will be hiring a dozen new faculty members over the next three years as part of its recently launched Network for Child Protection and Well-Being, with the goal of advancing knowledge, practice, education and outreach to combat child abuse.
As part of its aspiration to be at the forefront of national efforts toward prevention and therapy for child maltreatment, the University has begun a "cluster" hire that will include clinical and research tenure-track faculty members who are focused on the complex and pervasive problem of child maltreatment.
Benjamin H. Levi, a professor of pediatrics and humanities at Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center and Penn State College of Medicine, has assumed the directorship of the Center for the Protection of Children at Penn State Hershey Children's Hospital.
Penn State has infused more than $1.1 million into its newly established Center for the Protection of Children, based at Penn State Hershey Children's Hospital. That figure is more than twice the amount promised in December, when creation of the center was announced. The University also donated $1.5 million in December to the Pennsylvania Coalition Against Rape (PCAR).
The money comes from Penn State's share of the Big Ten bowl funds distribution, which totaled $2,616,184.
"Back in December, we estimated that we would have $500,000 available from our football bowl revenues after deducting the $1.5 million we promised to PCAR, so that's what we earmarked as start-up funding for the center," said Penn State President Rodney Erickson. "Our bowl revenue came in higher than expected, which is tremendous news, so we were able to provide the additional funding. We expect that the center will become a national leader in clinical care, research, education and direction of policy related to child abuse and neglect."
Penn State Hershey Children's Hospital will introduce the Penn State Hershey Center for the Protection of Children to the Penn State community, children's advocacy groups and other community stakeholders with a lecture by a nationally known child abuse expert on March 22.
Moving ahead with the promise to help prevent and treat child abuse, a Penn State task force has started to marshal the University's research and expertise in these areas. The Presidential Task Force on Child Maltreatment brings together a broad spectrum of faculty from across the University to coordinate and develop research, clinical practice, outreach and education on child maltreatment.
Penn State is strengthening a host of academic programs in its resolve to combat the widespread and complex social problems of child sexual assault, abuse and neglect. It also is broadening the study and awareness of sexual assault to include victims of all ages.
As an initial step, an inventory of undergraduate courses was compiled that identified courses and academic programs University faculty currently teach on topics addressing critical issues of sexual abuse.
Penn State's share of football bowl game revenues not only will be used for a newly formed partnership with an advocacy group for victims of sexual violence, but now also will help launch a center for the study, research, prevention and treatment of child abuse.
