Hospitals in Action >> Case Examples

FlagstaffMedical Center – Flagstaff , Arizona 
Mobile Child Advocacy Center Program

What is it?
In 2003, Flagstaff’s Safe Child Center (SCC) partnered with Childhelp to launch a mobile advocacy center – one of only two of its kind in the country. The collaborative project has the support of the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), law enforcement, and tribal leaders. The mobile center consists of a specially outfitted, 38-foot motor home staffed by a manager/driver, as well as a specially trained nurse practitioner and a forensic interviewer who provide forensic medical examinations and forensic interviews of abused children. Victims are scheduled directly through the SCC in Flagstaff and can be referred by Child Protective Services, the FBI, local law enforcement agencies, the BIA, and federal, state, and local prosecutors. 

Who is it for?
The mobile advocacy center provides services to abused children in rural Northeastern Arizona, many of whom reside on tribal reservations. The mobile center services Coconino, Apache, and Navajo counties.

Why do they do it?
Prior the mobile advocacy center, it took as long as three hours for a child abuse victim to be transported to the SCC for a medical exam and forensic interview. The mobile center provides one-stop multidisciplinary services at selected locations, reducing investigation time and trauma for abuse victims and their non-offending family members.

Contact: Joanne Parkes
Director of Children’s Health Center/Safe Child Center
Telephone: 928-773-2054
E-mail: joanne.parkes@nahealth.com