Community Partners Work Together to Promote Child Abuse Awareness and Prevention

Community Partners Work Together to Promote Child Abuse Awareness and Prevention

Symposium Promoting End of Abuse, Neglect Scheduled for Wednesday April 2

MACON, GA (Tuesday, April 1, 2014) – In recognition of National Child Abuse Prevention Month, the Crescent House, a service of The Children's Hospital at The Medical Center of Central Georgia (MCCG), will encourage discussion of this important issue through a Child Abuse Prevention Symposium.

The symposium, which is free to the public, is scheduled for Wednesday, April 2 from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. at MCCG's Peyton Anderson Health Education Center, located at 877 Hemlock Street in Macon. April is a time to recognize that we each can play a part in promoting the social and emotional wellbeing of local children and families.

A convocation will be held to renew the Bibb County Child Abuse Protocol at 8:45 a.m. in MCCG's Eversole Auditorium.  The Protocol is a commitment by the Crescent House, The Children's Hospital, the City of Macon, the Bibb County Board of Education, the Bibb County Department of Family and Children Services, the Bibb County District Attorney's Office, the Exchange Club of Macon and local law enforcement, public safety and healthcare organizations to end child abuse. Macon Mayor Robert Reichert will announce the city's commitment to support children and families by ending the cycle of child abuse and neglect through continued partnerships with MCCG and other social service agencies.

The symposium is sponsored by the Exchange Club of Macon and the Crescent House. The Crescent House is a children's advocacy center designed to meet the needs of children who have made allegations of being abused. The Crescent House is not a shelter but a facility supplied with state-of-the-art equipment that enables specially trained professionals to conduct effective, consistent, non-threatening interviews and examinations of children who have made these allegations. It is a “one-stop shop,” utilizing a multidisciplinary team approach to the investigation, treatment and prevention of child abuse. The Crescent House is proud to staff the only forensic pediatrician in the region, Dr. Yameika Head, who treats these children and works with the multidisciplinary team to ensure an accurate evaluation of the allegations.