Local News in Brief : Countywide : Coordinated Care of Abused Children Asked

County Supervisor Gaddi H. Vasquez, saying he is concerned that abused children can be further traumatized by the justice system, called Wednesday for creation of a task force to coordinate services to victims of abuse.

Vasquez, in a letter to fellow supervisors, said he is concerned that children are required to describe abusive events “over and over, each time to a new person in another unfamiliar setting.”

“No effort is made to link young children to an advocate at the initial interview” to “the one person who could provide a small sense of security in an otherwise frightening process,” Vasquez wrote.

Vasquez said Wednesday that he wants to ensure coordination between various county agencies so that abused youngsters “would not be traumatized by the process.”

He said there are gaps in communication between the Social Services Agency, which deals with abuse victims, the district attorney’s office, which prosecutes the abusers, and local police agencies, hospitals and the courts.

Vasquez suggested that a task force of representatives from various county programs be formed. Such a group could set up a unified interview process with victims, coordinate between criminal and juvenile courts and look into “the feasibility of a single, non-threatening site for intake, interview, medical exam and crisis counseling” of victims, Vasquez said.