Dr. Margaret McNeese, UT-H Medical School professor of pediatrics and associate dean for student affairs, is the center's medical director. We are really excited by it. Additional involvement by the department of obstetrics and gynecology and the department of psychiatry is anticipated, Dr. McNeese said. More than 5,000 children are brought to the center annually. After initial care and counseling, children continue therapy that can include art and play therapy to help them communicate.
Therapy can continue for up to two years.
Abused children are more likely to become abusers as adults. A multidisciplinary conference room allows law enforcement and social service agency representatives to discuss cases. The center is a public-private partnership between Harris County Commissioners Court and the Children's Assessment Center Foundation. Harris County provided land for the building and pays for half the center's annual operating budget. The foundation raises the remainder from private sources.