Bullhook accredited by National Children's Alliance

Press release

Havre's Bullhook Community Health Center has been awarded accreditation by National Children's Alliance following an extensive application and site review process.

As the accrediting agency for Children's Advocacy Centers across the country, National Children's Alliance awards various levels of accreditation and membership to centers responding to allegations of child abuse in ways that are effective and efficient and put the needs of child victims of abuse first. Accreditation is the highest level of membership with National Children's Alliance and denotes excellence in service provision.

"Bullhook Community Health Center is dedicated to helping Hill County in responding to child abuse," Bullhook CEO Cindy Smith said in a release. "We recognize the importance of accreditation from National Children's Alliance and supporting the Multidisciplinary Team approach. Accreditation not only validates our organization's proven effective approach to responding to allegations of child abuse, but also provides consistency across the child advocacy center movement as a whole."

"Bullhook Community Health Center is to be commended for its excellent work serving victims of child abuse. As the national association and accrediting body for Children's Advocacy Centers across the country, our goal is to ensure that every victim of child abuse has access to high quality services that result from professional collaboration," Teresa Huizar, executive director of National Children's Alliance, added in the release.

Wednesday at noon in Helena at the State Library Grizzly Conference Room, Montana Attorney General Tim Fox will recognize the Children's Advocacy Centers in Montana who have achieved accreditation or re-accreditation with the National Children's Alliance. The newly accredited CACs are located in Bozeman and the Fort Peck Indian Reservation as well as Havre.

Recently re-accredited Children's Advocacy Centers are located in Hamilton and Missoula.

Bullhook Community Health Center started in September of 2005 as a section of the Hill County Health Department, funded by a federal Healthy Communities Access Planning Grant. A federal 330 Grant was awarded July 1, 2007, to the board of directors for the new federally qualified health center. Bullhook Community Health Center offers medical, dental, pharmacy, addictions counseling, medically assisted treatment, and behavioral health services.

Bullhook Children's Advocacy Center is a program of the Bullhook Community Health Center dedicated to serving child victims of sexual and physical abuse. Its mission is to provide a child-friendly facility where child victims of abuse can be interviewed and receive medical and mental health treatment. It strives to establish and maintain a center that promotes dignity and respect while minimizing trauma, maximizing criminal prosecution, ensuring continued follow through in treatment for the best possible outcome, Bullhook said in the release.

National Children's Alliance awards accredited membership based on a CAC's compliance with 10 national standards of accreditation to ensure effective, efficient and consistent delivery of services to child abuse victims. National Children's Alliance updated these standards in 2010 to reflect the most recent evidence-based practices in the field of child abuse intervention and prevention. According to these standards, accredited members must utilize a functioning and effective multidisciplinary team approach to work collaboratively in child abuse investigation, prosecution, and treatment. National Children's Alliance also considers standards regarding a center's cultural competency and diversity, forensic interviews, victim support and advocacy, medical evaluation, therapeutic intervention, and child focused setting.

For more information about Bullhook Community Health Center, visit http://www.bullhook.com.

National Children's Alliance is the national association and accrediting body for the 777 Children's Advocacy Centers and 49 State Chapters serving each of the 50 states and the District of Columbia. Dedicated to helping local communities respond to allegations of child abuse in ways that are effective and efficient, and put the needs of child victims of abuse first, National Children's Alliance provides support and advocacy to its accredited membership, as well as numerous developing centers, multidisciplinary teams and child abuse professionals around the country, and the world. As the national authority on multidisciplinary approaches to supporting child victims of abuse, the purpose of National Children's Alliance is to empower local communities to provide comprehensive, coordinated and compassionate services to victims of child abuse. Founded in 1990, National Children's Alliance provides accreditation opportunities, financial assistance, training, technical assistance, research and education to communities, child abuse professionals and children's advocacy centers throughout the United States in support of child abuse intervention, advocacy and prevention.