Advocacy
Child Abuse & Neglect
Community Pediatrics
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
Emergency Medicine
General Pediatrics
Health Equity/Social Determinants of Health
Hospital Medicine
Maya Ragavan, MD, MPH, MS
Assistant Professor of Pediatrics
University of Pittsburgh/UPMC Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh
Wexford, Pennsylvania, United States
Kimberly Randell, MD, MSc (she/her/hers)
Professor of Pediatrics
Pediatrics, Division of Emergency Medicine
Children's Mercy Hospitals and Clinics
Kansas City, Missouri, United States
Allison Jackson, MD, MPH (she/her/hers)
Associate Professor of Pediatrics
Children's National Hospital
Washington, District of Columbia, United States
Workshop
Description: Intimate partner violence (IPV), which impacts 1 in 5 U.S. children, increased in severity during the COVID-19 pandemic. Pediatric healthcare providers across specialties can support families to mitigate the myriad negative outcomes associated with IPV exposure. One barrier to such support, however, may be the complexities of Child Protective Services (CPS) reporting. Reporting may be necessary to protect the child and connect families to resources but may also result in escalated abuse, a punitive response toward the adult IPV survivor, and hesitance to disclose IPV to healthcare providers. Providers must also consider the impacts of systemic racism and implicit bias on IPV help-seeking and CPS reporting and outcomes as families of color (especially Black and Indigenous children) are disproportionately represented in the CPS system. Further, mandated reporting requirements differ by state and are often nonspecific regarding IPV. Limited education currently exists for pediatric providers around CPS reporting in the context of IPV and supporting families when reporting is indicated. In this workshop, IPV and CAN experts will aide participants in building knowledge and skills to use healing-centered engagement to make IPV survivor- and child-centered decisions about CPS reporting. We will begin with a large group clinical scenario review to elucidate indications for and complexities of CPS reporting in the context of IPV, followed by small group case discussion to formulate strategies for CPS reporting. The large group will reconvene to share case discussions and compile strategies, enabling participants to identify tangible actions they can take home to their clinical settings.