SAFE, SANE, CARE AND SART Nurse and Nurse Practitioner Examination Teams (From Child Abuse and Neglect: Guidelines for Identification, Assessment, and Case Management, P 277-281, 2003, Marilyn Strachan Peterson and Michael Durfee, eds. -- See NCJ-200932)

• NCJ Number: 200980
• Author(s): Marilyn S. Peterson M.S.W; William Green M.D.; Cathy Boyle P.N.P
• Date Published: 2003
• Length: 5 pages
• Sale Source: Volcano Press, Inc
• Publication Format: Book (Softbound)
• Publication Type: Issue Overview; Instructional Material
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This chapter presents a model for the practice and membership of specialized medical examination teams for cases of suspected child sexual abuse, with attention to the circumstances in California.

Abstract

Such teams may be called Sexual Assault Forensic Examiners (SAFE), Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners (SANE), Child Abuse Response Examiners (CARE), Sexual Assault Response Team (SART), or Child Abuse Services Team (CAST). The SART acronym has now been broadened as a concept to describe a coordinated response that involves patrol officers, detectives, rape crisis advocates, crime laboratories, the district attorney's office, and the medical examination team. In California, crime laboratories have distinguished child sexual abuse forensic examinations as acute (less than 72 hours have passed since the incident) and nonacute (more than 72 hours have passed since the incident. The time that has passed since the alleged incident determines the type of examination that will be conducted. Multidisciplinary collaborations strengthen the response to the case. There are five stakeholders that should be involved in a successful team collaboration and intervention: the victim or survivor, the family of the victim, the neighborhood, the community, and the "people" of California. This chapter presents SART as a model community interagency team intervention. Through professional collaboration among agencies, both the needs of the child sexual assault victim and the criminal justice system are accommodated. This chapter lists the needs of the sexual assault victim and the needs and goals of the criminal justice system. SART organizes the process of intervention and the community response to sexual assault. This chapter lists the key features of the specialized sexual assault forensic medical examiner teams. It also outlines the knowledge and skills needed by medical personnel in the performance of sexual assault evidential examinations. The chapter concludes by noting that large urban hospitals may specialize and have one team for adolescent and adult victims of sexual assault and another team for child sexual abuse. Rural teams, on the other hand, may serve adults, adolescents, and children. The chapter provides a relevant case history with follow-up questions. 2 selected readings and 1 resource