Child Abuse Investigations
Child Abuse Investigations
The Benton County Sheriff’s Office participates in the multi-agency Child Abuse Response Team, or “CART.” CART was pilot tested in 1999 and formally established in 2000. It combines the efforts of local law enforcement and juvenile service agencies to focus on criminal child abuse cases.
CART is supervised by the Benton County District Attorney’s Office. The Benton County Sheriff’s Office participates with the Corvallis Police Department, Philomath Police Department, Department of Human Services (DHS), ABC (All Because of Children) House, Benton County Juvenile Department, and Benton County Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) for Children.
The goal of this program is to improve the timely resolution of criminal child abuse cases and improve the outcome for victims. CART focuses on the investigation of cases with victims under the age of 12. Abuse cases with child victims over 12-years-old are investigated by our other trained Detectives.
What To Do If You Suspect Child Abuse…
How do you know when it might be time to intervene? The ABC House provides information on the signs of child abuse and a list of helpful “do’s and don’ts.” The Oregon Department of Human Services (DHS), Child Protective Services provides information on how to report child abuse. See Web Links below.
Oregon law requires that workers in certain professions must make reports if they have reasonable cause to suspect abuse or neglect. For more information on mandatory reporting, check out the Oregon DHS website in Web Links below.