Barbara Sinatra Children's Center
BARBARA SINATRA CHILDREN’S CENTER AT EISENHOWER OVERVIEW
The mission of the Barbara Sinatra Children’s Center at Eisenhower is to provide counseling for victims of physical, sexual and emotional abuse; and to focus on prevention, community education and breaking the generational cycle of abuse. During the month of March 2008, 204 individual cases received counseling at the Children’s Center. According to a 2006 study, the United States Department of Health and Human Services estimates 872,000 children were victims of child abuse or neglect. Physical injuries may not be immediately visible; abuse and neglect can have lasting consequences for children, families and society that may continue for generations. The Barbara Sinatra Children’s Center needs your support to address a fluctuating waiting list and to continue to provide therapy for victims of child abuse.
The Barbara Sinatra Children’s Center is an IRS-recognized 501 (c)(3) nonprofit organization. Barbara and Frank Sinatra founded the Children’s Center in 1986 for the express purpose of providing a state-of-the-art facility to provide out-patient therapy and forensic services to victims of child abuse and trauma who reside in the Coachella Valley of Southern California. All children in need are welcome, regardless of a family’s ability to pay. The Children’s Center is located on the campus of Eisenhower Medical Center in Rancho Mirage, California.
Without therapy, the effects of abuse negatively impact the society in which the victim lives and impacts the child’s own potential to become a content responsible adult, parent, and/or productive member of the community. The Children’s Center vigorously and responsibly fundraises on an on-going basis and has, in recent years, increased revenue from third party payer sources (private insurance, Medi-Cal, California’s Victims of Crime program). However, with more than 96% of clients from families below the poverty line, funding becomes more challenging each year.
Therapy and on-going intervention allows abused children to work through feelings and trauma associated with devastating abuse. Counseling is an important step in preventing the victim from themselves becoming an abuser or, if female, from becoming involved with an abuser. Just one untreated abused child can have far-reaching negative effects on society. Our programs make mental health counseling more accessible and affordable; the results of our efforts positively affect all area residents. With the assistance of qualified, experienced, licensed counselors individually designed comprehensive consistent counseling programs and appropriate evaluation protocols, young abuse victims can be helped to lead healthy, happy childhoods and become productive, responsible adults and parents. The Barbara Sinatra Children’s Center is a nationally respected advocate and treatment center that helps children understand they are important, worthy of being loved and capable of functioning in the world in which they live.
BARBARA SINATRA CHILDREN’S CENTER STATISTICS*
- 558 clients counseled
- 5,428 appointments kept
- 151 were clients age 13 through 18
- 37 forensic exams performed on children suspected of having been assaulted
- 136 clients with primary diagnosis of post traumatic stress disorder
- 104 clients assesses by contract on-site psychiatrist
- 312 intakes
- 335 cases closed
- It is estimated there are 60 million survivors of childhood sexual abuse in America today
- Approximately 31% of women in prison state that they were abused as children
- Approximately 95% of teen prostitutes were sexually abused as a child
- Children with disabilities are 4 to 10 times more vulnerable to sexual abuse than their non-disabled peers
- One of every seven victims of sexual assault is under the age of seven
- 40% of offenders who victimize children under the age of six are juveniles
- 15 victims per 1,000 were from birth through age three
- 60% of convicted sex offenders are on parole or probation
- Half of the women raped in the United States in 1992 were younger than age 18
- One in four females and one in six males are molested by age 18
- 80-90% of offenders are family members or close family friends
- Child abuse kills more children than choking on food, home fires or falls
- California has 101,589 registered sex offenders