Contact Address
431 SE 3rd Street
Pendleton, OR 97801
Contact Phone
Phone: 541.276.6774
Fax: 541.276.1486
Contact Email
Report Abuse Hotline
Oregon Child Abuse Hotline
24hours/7 days week
Call 1-855-503-SAFE (7233)
Guardian Care Center
Guardian Care Center’s Vision: A caring community, free of child abuse, where everyone is invested in creating a safe environment for children.
Mission: To prevent child abuse in our communities, and to provide compassionate assessment and support for children and families who have been impacted by child abuse.
Goals and Objectives
- To be advocates for children who are victims of abuse or neglect.
- To provide a safe environment where victims of child abuse can tell trained forensic interviewers about their experience.
- To provide objective medical evaluations for children referred to the Guardian Care Center, when needed.
- To provide recorded interviews and the findings of medical evaluations, which the district attorney can use to prosecute the perpetrators of abuse.
- To reduce the trauma children may experience as a result of abuse.
- To reduce the public cost of child abuse and neglect.
- To involve appropriate community resources for referral and treatment of abused children and their non-offending family members.
- To heighten community awareness and activate community response towards child abuse prevention and early intervention.
Values and Beliefs
- Children and families should be treated with dignity and respect.
- Suspected victims of child abuse deserve to tell their stories to compassionate, objective interviewers in a safe, comforting environment.
- Suspected victims of child abuse deserve objective medical evaluations and treatment.
- Systematic trauma to suspected child abuse victims must be minimized.
- We value collaboration with the Department of Human Services and law enforcement agencies.
- A coordinated community effort is necessary to respond appropriately to child abuse.
- Staff must be supported to keeping abreast of current knowledge and best practices in the field of forensic interviewing, medical evaluation, treatment and prevention of child abuse.
- Caring for the children most at risk in our community is always our touchstone for all decision making. We must always ask, “What is in the best interest of the child?”
About Us
About the Guardian Care Center:
Created in 1996 by the District Attorney’s Department of Umatilla County.
The Guardian Care Center in Umatilla County helps lessen the trauma experienced by child victims of abuse. The Center eliminates the need for a child to be shuffled through police stations, doctor’s offices and courtrooms, sparing the child fear and trauma often associated with these experiences.
Guardian Care Center’s child abuse assessments are part of an investigatory process, children are referred by law enforcement agencies and/or child protective services. Our assessments include a child forensic interview and a medical exam, if indicated. The medical exam collects physical evidence and diagnose/treat health issues related to the abuse.
There is no charge for the evaluations.
What Services We Provide
Services, based on a child’s needs, are provided in a neutral, child-friendly environment. Services include:
- Interviews of suspected victims of child abuse
- Medical evaluations
- Mental health treatment and/or referrals
- Provision or coordination of other victim services
- Other services may be offered depending upon individual community needs.