Casa Albizu
Casa Albizu
Casa Albizu is a coordinated response program for probes of child and adolescent abuse, subsidized by the Administration for Families and Children (ADFAN) of the Puerto Rico Department of Family Services. Currently, the program has three service centers (San Juan, Ponce, and Camuy) that provide free evaluation services for child and adolescent sexual abuse allegations and psychotherapy to sexually abused children and adolescents and their families. Similarly, Casa Albizu is a training and clinical practice center for Clinical Psychology doctoral students at Albizu University. In addition, it offers training to professionals, talks, and workshops to the community on issues related to sexual abuse.
As part of its vision as a coordinated response center, the program has developed significant collaborative agreements with the judicial branch, the FBI, and ICE. It also collaborates with and has the advice of several Child Advocacy Centers in the United States. The program's professionals have specialized certifications in different components of forensic interviews, expert evaluation, forensic approaches to children with special needs, and various therapy models. Some of these certifications are unique in Puerto Rico.
The program began its work in 2001 as the Support Program for Victims of Sexual Abuse and their Families (PAF for its Spanish acronym), incorporating and gradually expanding services in the area of evaluation, forensic interview, psychotherapy, preparation of children to face legal proceedings, and coordination of integrated services.