Child abuse and neglect expert is adding staff to university hospitals

After a long search, University Hospitals hired a pediatrician who specializes in child abuse and neglect.

Jennifer Johnson, executive director of the Canopy Child Advocacy Center, spoke about the hiring at the Cuyahoga County Department of Children and Family Services Advisory Board meeting Wednesday.

On Friday, a UH spokesman identified the new employee: Dr. Kristen Iniguez, who currently works in Wisconsin. She will join the UH team in January 2025.

Johnson said half of the new doctor’s time will be spent working with Canopy, which coordinates investigations into suspected child abuse and neglect cases referred by DCFS or law enforcement.

The county has not had a child abuse specialist for about two years. The position will be part of the child protection team launched in 2023 following high-profile child deaths and amid reports that more children died in Cuyahoga County than in other Ohio counties.

Last month, the DCFS advisory board called on the three local hospital systems to step up their efforts to fill the position. One member said it was “embarrassing that we don’t have the appropriate investment”.

The three hospitals — Cleveland Clinic, MetroHealth and UH — responded with a joint statement: “There is a shortage of pediatricians in this specialty, but we hope to have a candidate by the end of the year.”

Iniguez is medical director of the Marshfield Child Advocacy Center in Marshfield, Wisconsin. According to her bio, she works with other doctors, social workers, a behavioral therapist, child advocates, law enforcement officials and the local prosecutor’s office on abuse and neglect cases.

“I have a passion for helping children, especially those who have been abused or suffered other severe psychological trauma,” she said in the bio.

In an interview last month, Johnson explained the importance of finding a pediatrician who specializes in abuse.

“It’s really important to properly identify child abuse. “In young children, it is not easy to determine whether bruises or broken bones are a result of being children – falls or running – or whether it is a direct result of child abuse,” Johnson said. “Very rarely is it clean cut.”

According to a report, about 9,500 cases were investigated for abuse and neglect in Cuyahoga County in 2023.