Child Protection
For more than a decade, assisting the victims of child abuse and severe neglect has been a mainstay of the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation mission. The Foundation helped establish a national network of emergency centers which pioneered an interdisciplinary approach to the detection, documentation and reporting of child abuse. The Foundation also facilitates exchanges between Israeli and American professionals and sponsors educational symposia, all in an effort to advance the child protection field in Israel.
Key Initiatives
Beit Lynn
The Jerusalem Beit Lynn Child Protection Center serves as a model for streamlining the child abuse investigation process while minimizing trauma to the child. The first of its kind, the Center was developed together with the organization Ashalim, the government ministries of Welfare, Health, and Internal Security. Beit Lynn provides a platform for beginning a child’s treatment process as quickly and effectively as possible. A second Beit Lynn, within the Chaim Sheba Medical Center at Tel Hashomer Hospital, opened in early 2009 to serve the greater Tel Aviv area.
The Jerusalem Beit Lynn Child Protection Center serves as a model for streamlining the child abuse investigation process while minimizing trauma to the child. The first of its kind, the Center was developed together with the organization Ashalim, the government ministries of Welfare, Health, and Internal Security. Beit Lynn provides a platform for beginning a child’s treatment process as quickly and effectively as possible. A second Beit Lynn, within the Chaim Sheba Medical Center at Tel Hashomer Hospital, opened in early 2009 to serve the greater Tel Aviv area.
Beit Lynn fills a critical gap in Israel's social service network by:
- providing centralized diagnostic and investigative services to child victims of assault – particularly sexual assault, and
- assembling a team of professionals under one roof who are uniquely sensitive to victims’ needs, representing the Ministries of Welfare, Health, and Internal Security (police).
Haruv Institute
The Haruv Institute was established by the Schusterman Foundation – Israel in 2007, as a center for research, education and public policy on the topic of child abuse. The Haruv Institute’s mission is to enhance the knowledge-base of professionals and allied care-givers working with abused and neglected children and their families and to develop advanced educational programs for these professionals. The Institute seeks to become a global leader through a commitment to excellence, high-quality programming and seeking innovative solutions to the myriad of challenges facing professionals working with young victims of abuse.