TARTU SUPPORT CENTER FOR ABUSED CHILDREN

Address: Kaunase pst.11-2 Tartu 50704, Estonia

Telephone: +37 27 484 666, 486 767, Fax +37 27 484 666, 486 767

E-mail: ch.abuse@online.ee; http://home.delfi.ee/~ch.abuse/

Established in August, 1995. Registered as NGO since December 1996.

 Mission:We do consider our mission to prevent violence in Estonia ? that children and families are exposed to and suffer from ? through informing wide public (community) and training professionals; and likewise to help abused children and their family members.

Target group: 

•  Emotionally, physically, sexually abused and neglected children (<18 year)
• Delinquent children
• Victims of domestic violence
•  Families at risk (young parents, pregnant, single mothers s.o.)

The activities of Tartu Support Center for Abused Children include:

• Multidisciplinary team (incl. psychologists, paediatricians, social workers, a juvenile police officer, a prosecutor, a pedagogue) is providing abused children and victims of domestic violence with:

          crisis intervention,

          medical-social-psychological counselling,·

          assessment for treatment,

          psychotherapy,·

          individual therapy,

          group therapy,

          family therapy, 

          gestalt therapy,

          support person service,

          prevention and early intervention (group work with young parents),

         CAP (Child Assault Prevention) program service

• Continuous training of professionals that are involved in work with children and families, and informing public about the issues of domestic violence and child abuse.
• Developing and extending collaboration network.
• Carrying out researches in this field.
• Organising lobby work and co-operation with politicians, authorities, NGOs and other institutions, which handle the same subject.

All consultations and treatment are confidential and free of charge. There are services opened to women and girls, that are victims of trafficking.

Publications:

?Child Maltreatment?, published by AS Atlex, in 1997. It was the very first book in Estonian, concerning the subject of abuse, and was compiled by the specialists of Tartu Child Support Center. The same book was translated into Russian in 1999 and published.

?The Police Mental Health Partnership?, by Jean Adnopoz, Miriam Berkman from Yale University, the translation into Estonian is used in collaboration with police.

Contact person: Ruth Soonets, e-mail: ch.abuse@online.ee