About Butler Center
Helping Bronx families heal after child abuse
A scalded toddler left alone in the bathtub by her young, stressed mother...
A 12-year old boy sexually abused by his uncle...
A four-year old oblivious she carries sexually transmitted disease...
These children—and a thousand more—receive compassionate, comprehensive care each year at the J.E. and Z.B. Butler Child Advocacy Center in the Bronx, New York.
› How we help families heal after child abuse
› Why medically-based child advocacy benefits kids
› Butler Center's history
› Learn more about Butler Center
How we help families heal after child abuse
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At Butler Center we're committed to healing abused children with expert medical care, psychosocial evaluation and referral services in a comfortable neighborhood center.
We pledge to end violence against children by teaching awareness, prevention and treatment of child abuse to healthcare providers, social service professionals and the larger community. |
In addition to free family services, Butler Center advances the field of child advocacy through:
- Professional training for future doctors and social workers
- Child abuse education at schools, health fairs and the larger community
- Child advocacy legislation
Why medically-based child advocacy benefits kids
Butler Center treats abused children with a holistic approach that involves doctors, nurses, social workers and other professionals. When appropriate, our team includes a manager from the Administration for Children's Services (ACS), law enforcement and the Bronx District Attorney's office.
Rather than shuffling a hurting child from emergency room to police station to social services office, we give kids the advantage of care from many experts-in a single facility.
Our child-friendly, neighborhood-centered program helps...
- Minimize trauma to children during abuse investigations
- Streamline services to families
- Support prosecution of child abusers
- Provide therapeutic and prosecutorial options for kids with disabilities
Learn more about medically-focused child advocacy
Butler Center's history: Serving abused Bronx children since 1984
Butler Center-originally known as the Child Protection Center-opened its doors to Bronx families in 1984.
Staff soon realized their young patients struggled with "problems clearly beyond medical," recalls Dr. Linda Cahill, Butler Center's Medical Director and founder.
"We spent many years early on," she explains, "generating relationships with other agencies working in this field," including the Administration for Children's Services and the Bronx District Attorney.
Early years: Big hopes, tiny facility
The Center's first skeletal staff included Dr. Cahill and one part-time social worker. Under the aegis of Montefiore Medical Center, the team began seeing children in two small rooms of the hospital's outpatient clinic.
During their first full year in operation, Butler Center cared for 200 children.
Generous donors enable Butler Center expansion
Since then, Butler Center's expanded services have allowed us to treat more than 16,000 children and teens victimized by neglect, battery and sexual abuse.
In 1996, a generous gift from the J.E. & Z.B. Butler Foundation enabled the organization-now re-named the J.E. and Z.B. Butler Child Advocacy Center-to build a customized 5,500 square foot freestanding facility on Steuben Avenue, one block away from the Children's Hospital at Montefiore.
In addition to the Steuben Avenue building, Butler Center now includes Child Advocacy Prevention Services, a dedicated neighborhood mental health services facility.
Today Dr. Cahill shares Butler Center's leadership with Executive Director Karel Amaranth and a multidisciplinary staff of 18.
Learn more about Butler Center
Who's who at Butler Center? Meet our staff.
Want a closer look at our child-friendly facility? Take an online tour of Butler Center.
Who is served at Butler Center? Review client demographics and other metrics.
How do we spend your donation? See our 2007 programs and financial breakout.
Like to learn about advocacy for abused children with disabilities? Check out the Moving Mountains project.
Professionals: Looking for educational opportunities to improve your practice? Learn about physicians' training and social work training.
