Child Abuse Review Team

To Report Child Abuse:

Call the Oregon Child Abuse Hotline at 1-855-503-SAFE (7233) or call your local law enforcement agency. 

Marion County Child Abuse Review Team

The Child Abuse Review Team (CART) is a multidisciplinary response to child abuse occurring in Marion County, striving to lessen any negative impact of services to the child victim, minimize the number of interviews, prevent the abuse of other children, increase the effectiveness of prosecution, and provide information to the involved agencies in a coordinated and efficient manner.

Goals

ORS 418.747(1) provides that the District Attorney in each county shall be responsible for developing interagency and multidisciplinary teams to:

• Develop a written protocol for the investigation of child abuse cases.
• Develop agreements between member agencies to specify the role and procedures to be followed by each agency.
• Review the investigation procedures of sensitive cases.
• Establish a fatality review process.

Subcommittees

CART meetings are held on a monthly basis. In order to adequately address specific topics, small subcommittees were created. Subcommittees continue to form and evolve based on the needs in the community. Current subcommittees include:

Acute Sexual Assault

• New subgroup formed to look at the system's response to cases involving acute sexual trauma.
• Includes representatives from the DA's office, Victim's Assistance, Liberty House, and Salem Hospital.

Child Fatality Review

• Conducts multidisciplinary review of all child fatalities in the county pursuant to statute.
• Meets after each CART meeting and makes reports to the full CART three times per year.
• Determines whether each death could have been prevented and if the death was the result of abuse using criteria established by the State Fatality Review Team and the State Technical Assistance Team (STAT).
• Conclusions reached by the full CART are provided to the STAT for statewide compilation.

Protocol Revision & Training

• Organizes and conducts trainings for law enforcement, the Department of Human Services, and other CART agencies on child abuse investigation, response, and the Marion County Child Abuse Protocol.
• Conducts regular reviews of the protocol and revises as necessary.
• Most recently updated the protocol by adding a section on Drug Endangered Children.

Juvenile Fire Setter Intervention Network

• Subgroup meets on an as-needed basis to staff cases, write protocols, conduct trainings, participate in conferences, and work with schools and fire setters.
• Joined with a statewide Fire Setters Network involving approximately 14 counties.

Sexual Behavior Under Age 12

• Subgroup formed in 1993 that conducts a multidisciplinary review of cases involving young children displaying traits of victims or offenders.
• Seeks course of action and resolution taking into account the young age of the child, the particular conduct, and available resources.

Staffing Imminent Cases (SIC)

• Subgroup meets as-needed to provide opportunity to review cases from a multidisciplinary perspective.
• Review may be conducted to get direction on how to proceed, for assistance with coordinating agencies and services, improving case management functions, and/or seeking guidance in resolving a case.

Additional subcommittees are formed when needs are identified.

CART members represent:

For more information please contact:

Shannon Sullivan, Deputy District Attorney
P.O. Box 14500, Salem OR 97309
Phone (503) 588-5222
Email

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