Senator Young

New York State Senator Catharine Young met with myself, Karen Hill, Director of the Southern Tier Child Advocacy Center (STCAC), and members of the STCAC Multidisciplinary Team Thursday to discuss a proposed statewide cut in CAC funding. In 2014 the state increased CAC funding by $2.5 million to support evidence-based treatments at CACs across New York. Eliminating this funding threatens the ability of centers to provide the most effective evidence-based treatment to abused children and their non-offending caregivers and siblings. I want to thank Senator Young for supporting CACs and for making time in her busy schedule to meet with us. I also want to thank the STCAC Multidisciplinary Team members who attended: Dr. Pam Salzmann, M.D., Olean Police Chief Jeff Rowley, Olean Police Captain Robert Blovsky and Cattaraugus County Sheriff’s Office Investigator John Ensell.

WCA Case Review

WCA Hospital held its first case review meeting since opening its Sexual Assault Forensic Examiner (SAFE). From September 1 to December 31, the SAFE providers at WCA helped six sexual assault survivors. During the review members of the WCA SAFE Multidisciplinary Team discussed each case to ensure victims received all the services and follow-up care they required and that evidence to hold offenders accountable was properly collected. The meeting went very well. We had great input from law enforcement, including members of the Jamestown Police Department and the Chautauqua County Sheriff’s Office and the SAFE providers. The representative from the District Attorney’s Office couldn’t be there because they were preparing to present evidence from one of our SAFE cases to a grand jury. I want to thank WCA Hospital for supporting the SAFE program and particularly WCA Director of Nursing and Emergency Department Nurse Manager Emelia Lindquist who championed the program from the beginning.