Staff from Army Community Service join students, teachers and staff at Daniel K. Inouye Elementary School for a parade through the campus to kickoff Child Abuse Prevention Month in April 2018. ACS supports and hosts numerous events on behalf of military children. (U.S. Army photo by Karen Iwamoto)
Family Advocacy Program
Army Community Service
Directorate of Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation
U.S. Army Garrison Hawaii
SCHOFIELD BARRACKS -- The Family Advocacy Program, Army Community Service sponsored the Multidisciplinary Approach to Child Maltreatment Evaluations and Investigations, April 9-10, 2019, at the Nehelani Conference & Banquet Center, here.
Col. Thomas Barrett, commander, U.S. Army Garrison Hawaii, provided opening remarks, and four presenters from Walter Reed National Military Medical Center -- all subject matter experts in the field of child maltreatment -- provided a wealth of information.
Barrett said U.S. Army Hawaii is literally the second largest city in the state of Hawaii, with more than 94,000 Soldiers, family members, civilian employees, retirees and veterans.
"The ability for all of us to understand how the Army responds to child maltreatment, and how the Army interacts with its network of local providers that make up that response, will improve the overall care our community members receive," Barrett explained.
The Armed Forces Center for Child Protection from Walter Reed Bethesda educated the audience on how to assess the complex issues related to child maltreatment, both short and long-term, and how to construct a multidisciplinary approach to allow for improvement in clinical assessments and forensic investigations in cases of suspected child maltreatment.
The training was attended by 135 military and civilian personnel, to include physicians, nurses, psychologists, Family Advocacy Program staff, social workers, investigators, Child Welfare Services, educators, counselors, military and civilian law enforcement, Legal staff and victim advocates. Attendees represented all branches of service on the island and other places int he Pacific region.
In 2017, Army Community Service hosts the Family Advocacy Program Youth
Art Contest during Child Abuse Prevention Month. Shown above is an entry
submitted by kindergarten through first grade category winner
Krista Dyson. (Courtesy of Army Community Service)