Pediatric Forensic Medicine Program

Kentucky has the highest rate of child maltreatment in the country for the second year in a row. There were over 83,000 investigations of abuse/neglect and over 23,000 cases of substantiated abuse (a 32.5% increase since 2014). Kentucky’s rate of 23.5/1000 victims of child maltreatment is more than 2.5 times the national average. This number can quickly overload a system dedicated to identifying and providing services to these victims, especially the resources of the four practicing child abuse pediatricians in the state. Additionally, these evaluations are time consuming and not easily addressed in an emergency department or primary care setting. When violence such as child abuse (physical or sexual) is identified, further care, beyond basic medical care, is also essential and typically requires a multidisciplinary approach. This has required creativity to broaden this field in the state of Kentucky with the limited resources available. The development of the field of sexual assault nurse examiners has been a pioneer in the field of nursing for forensic purposes, and has shown a great deal of success that ultimately led to the forensic nurse examiner. Funding from the VOCA grant will allow us to continue to utilize Forensic Nurses for evaluations of children that are victims of child maltreatment as well as support the crucial interdisciplinary role of social workers in assessing and treating victims and caregivers of suspected victims of child maltreatment.