MERIT Program welcomes social worker to help abused and neglected children
MERIT Program welcomes social worker to help abused and neglected children Heading link
Children who are suspected of being abused or neglected will now have ongoing psychological care and case management in addition to the expert physical exams provided at the University of Illinois College of Medicine Rockford’s Medical Evaluation Response Initiative Team (MERIT) Program. A licensed clinical social worker is now on staff at MERIT thanks to a grant from the Winnebago County Community Mental Health Board that is funded with the half-cent sales tax voted on by county residents.
Elizabeth “Liz” Kroening, MSW, LCSW, recently joined the MERIT staff to offer children referred to the MERIT Program mental health care and case management intervention to ensure individuals receive ongoing follow-up and services they need.
Winnebago County has the second highest rate of reported Department of Children and Family Services investigations of child abuse/neglect in the state. Last year MERIT provided comprehensive expert medical evaluations to over 400 children referred to the program.
“The effects of child abuse and neglect go beyond just physical injuries,” says MERIT director Shannon Krueger, MSN, APRN, CPNP-PC, SANE-P. “The experience of trauma can increase a child’s risk to depression, anxiety, low academic attainment and mental health crisis. With a social worker onsite, we are able to provide trauma informed intervention and assessments to give kids at MERIT a start in their healing process in a timely manner.”
Another part of Kroening’s role is increasing awareness of child abuse/neglect prevention and intervention in the community. Kroening, who is a Navy veteran and a graduate of Aurora University where she earned a master’s degree in social work, will focus on addressing risk and protective factors at the individual, relational, community and societal levels to prevent child abuse and neglect.