The CACB collaborative effort consists of a shared goal to confront child abuse through targeted responses by a multidisciplinary team of Brevard professionals.

Housed together at the CACB facility are professionals from two organizations: the Child Protection Team and the Department of Children and Families.

Child Protection Team of Brevard

Mission
"To promote the safety and well-being of Florida's children by providing medically led multidisciplinary assessment services for children suspected of being abused or neglected."

The Child Protection Team of Brevard is one of 25 statewide medically directed multidisciplinary teams designed to enhance the assessment of child abuse cases. The Child Protection Team Program operates on the premise that child abuse, abandonment, and neglect is a multifaceted problem requiring a multidisciplinary response to child protective investigations. The purpose of the program is to supplement the child protective investigation activities of the Department of Children and Families, or designated sheriff's offices, by providing multidisciplinary assessment services to children and families involved in child abuse and neglect investigations. Child Protection Teams may also provide assessments to Community Based Care providers to assist in case planning activities when resources are available. Intervention in child abuse and neglect is promoted through multidisciplinary staffings, expert court testimony, direct service referrals and recommendations that support child safety.

The teams' comprehensive multidisciplinary assessment activities are critical in identifying and evaluating child abuse, abandonment, and neglect, in recommending effective interventions and treatments, and in securing successful long-term outcomes for children and families. Consistent with the legislative intent of the program and with the Department of Health's mission, the objectives of the Child Protection Team Program include:

• Prevention of child abuse and neglect is promoted through consultation with other agencies, training of professionals, and educating the public;
• Identification of child abuse and neglect is promoted through assessment activities that focus on child maltreatment and safety and risk factors; and
• Intervention in child abuse and neglect is promoted through multidisciplinary staffings, expert court testimony, direct service referrals and recommendations that support child safety.
  

Florida Department of Children and Families

A Protective Investigation unit at the CACB conducts county-wide investigations of child abuse allegations involving family members or caretakers as the accused abusers.