Bucks County Children's Advocacy Center installs new director

With the re-accreditation process underway at the Bucks County Children’s Advocacy Center, new director Nimisha David knows exactly what will be occupying most of her working hours over the coming weeks.

“Our re-accreditation application is due this October,” says the licensed social worker who began her new responsibilities in May, “so I started working on that my second day here. It’s 400 pages, very detailed, and is taking most of my focus right now.”

Ms. David replaces the Center’s inaugural director, Leslie Slingsby, who has accepted another post.

The new director, who also earned a Master’s in social work, previously worked for the Philadelphia Corporation for Aging for seven years. At PCA she most recently was a key supervisor for the Veteran-Directed Home and Community Based Services program with Veterans Administration medical centers in Philadelphia and Coatesville, leading the development and implementation of the program and serving as liaison between PCA, the medical centers and other area agencies on aging.

“After becoming a care manager and supervisor early in my career, I discovered I’m more interested in policies, procedures and program development than clinical social work. So while I have worked mostly with an aging population, my recent experiences with families of veterans have exposed me to all ages including children.

“I’m excited for this new opportunity to apply my patient-centered managerial and program development skills.”

Bucks CAC – a program of Network of Victim Assistance (NOVA) and a collaborative effort by NOVA, the Bucks County District Attorney’s office, Bucks County Children & Youth Social Services, Bucks County Health Improvement Partnership and local law enforcement – was established in 2008 to limit child victim trauma. It employs a coordinated, multidisciplinary and comprehensive response to reports of suspected child sexual and physical abuse by bringing the agents of major institutions that play a role in the response process together in one child-friendly, developmentally appropriate, respectful and safe environment.

In 2011 the Center received full accreditation from the National Children’s Alliance – the second Children’s Advocacy Center in the Philadelphia area to successfully complete the rigorous review process ¬– which must be renewed every five years.

Aside from her responsibilities for re-accrediting the Center, Ms. David sees an immediate need for staffing: “The number of interviews has almost doubled in the last year, so we’ll be hiring a new forensic interviewer and sharing an additional victim advocate that NOVA is hiring.”

“I also want to start working with our partners to provide our medical services to children in locations that are more accessible for their families. Right now, medical exams are performed at a distance that is a burden for most families to travel.”

Shown in photo is Nimisha David, LSW, MSW, new director of Bucks County Children’s Advocacy Center.