PROGRAM DETECTS ABUSE; CITY APPROVES FUNDING TO TRAIN AREA PHYSICIANS.Byline: Stacy Brown Daily News Staff Writer The Santa Clarita Santa Clarita, city (1990 pop. 110,642), Los Angeles co., S Calif., suburb 30 mi (48 km) NW of downtown Los Angeles, on the Santa Clara River; inc. 1987. Situated in the Santa Clara valley and nearby canyons, Santa Clarita includes the former towns of Canyon Country, City Council has approved funding for a special program that would have the Sheriff's Department working with local hospitals to identify abused children. When a suspected child abuser child abuser Public health A person who mentally or physically abuses a child Typical CA profile Age < 30, slightly more likely to be ♀, whose mother was unemployed/employed part time as a manual laborer Typical victim Young children, teens. is detected, sheriff's deputies would be notified immediately. Santa Clarita's Community Services Superintendent Adele MacPherson said the city of Lancaster The City of Lancaster (2002 population: 133,914) is a local government district with city status in Lancashire, England. Its main town is Lancaster, from which it obtained its city status. Other towns in the district include Morecambe, Heysham, Slyne, and Carnforth. embarked on the study of child abuse problems in the Antelope Valley This article is about the Los Angeles County region. For the census-designated place in Wyoming, see Antelope Valley-Crestview, Wyoming. The Antelope Valley two years ago. The mayor formed an independent task force to study the magnitude of the problem, and the Suspected Child Abuse and Neglect team of physicians and nurse practitioners was formed. ``What it does is immediately inform doctors whether they are dealing with repeat offenders or not,'' MacPherson said. She said a high-tech camera and audio system called a Colposcope colposcope /col·po·scope/ (kol´pah-skop) vaginoscope; a speculum for examining the vagina and cervix using a magnifying lens. col·po·scope n. is used to document child abuse and maintain an evidence chain. Colposcope is electronically connected to the County USC An abbreviation for U.S. Code. Medical Center, where an administrator can conduct an evaluation and examination. ``Doctors would know right away if it's a case of abuse. The presence of this program has proven to be an effective prevention tool in the area of child abuse,'' MacPherson said. Following an explanation of the program by Lancaster Assistant City Manager Dennis Davenport, Councilman Jim Jeffra requested support from Santa Clarita to extend the program here. MacPherson said after receiving the council's approval, the city will now participate at monthly meetings, and physicians from trauma and emergency rooms will then join the training. She said this program should help prevent offenders from going undetected. The program has received grants of $30,000 from Lancaster, $15,000 from the county of Los Angeles and an additional $4,500 from Kaiser Permanente. Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich Michael Dennis Antonovich (born 1939 in Los Angeles, California) is a member of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors representing the Fifth District, which covers northern Los Angeles County, the Antelope, Santa Clarita, Pasadena, and parts of the San Fernando and San and doctors from the County USC Medical Center are scheduling training for doctors throughout Los Angeles. |
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