Audrey Hepburn Children’s House

For most of us, children are cherished gifts. For a few, however, children are easy targets of abuse, neglect and manipulation. As the new century dawned, Hackensack University Medical Center made it a priority to prevent child abuse and help victims overcome the physical and psychological pain it causes.

In 2002, we made good on that commitment with the opening of the world’s first Audrey Hepburn Children’s House — a state-designated regional diagnostic center for child abuse and neglect serving northern New Jersey.

Public contributions to the Foundation made the Audrey Hepburn Children’s House possible. But your ongoing financial support will help us ensure that every child can live without fear.

At the Audrey Hepburn Children’s House, we strive to lessen the trauma experienced by abused children through a coordinated interdisciplinary team response, quality evaluations, and treatment in a child-friendly and culturally sensitive environment.

The center provides diagnostic and therapeutic services for infants, children, and adolescents who are suspected victims of abuse. The professional staff, including physicians, nurses, psychologists, social workers, and creative art therapists have clinical expertise in all areas of child maltreatment and provide comprehensive care for both the child and their family. A multidisciplinary approach to investigation, diagnosis and treatment of child abuse is utilized through collaboration with community agencies that service child victims and their families.

The Audrey Hepburn Children’s House is also committed to improve awareness and services for children who are maltreated. The professional staff provides a wide variety of educational and training programs on issues of child maltreatment to parents, childcare providers, school personnel, healthcare professionals, law enforcement personnel, and social workers. We promote public awareness through education, motivate the community to embrace a no-tolerance stance toward child abuse, strengthen prevention initiatives, and work to create a safer place for children to grow and thrive.