Child Abuse Investigative Support Center (CAISC)
Established by the GBI on August 16, 2000, the Child Abuse Investigative Support Center (CAISC) is a specialized unit within the Georgia Bureau of Investigation Medical Examiner’s Office. This unit provides a variety of services to coroners, law enforcement, Division of Family & Children Services personnel, daycares, first responders, and other local/state/federal agencies involved with child maltreatment and/or juvenile death investigations.
The main responsibility of the unit is assisting in the investigation of death and/or maltreatment of individuals 17 years of age and younger but services may also be used for individuals older than 17 years – particularly disabled or elderly. The Center’s mission is to render support services to all agencies involved in the investigation of child maltreatment. The Child Abuse Investigative Support Center provides forensic medical consultations in which injuries are evaluated. The child’s injuries, medical records, and other pertinent information are reviewed during the consultation.
After evaluation, an expert opinion is rendered and a letter detailing the accidental or inflicted nature of the injuries is provided. Expert testimony regarding the opinion is also available as needed. In addition, the Center conducts training for any organization, including child abuse, sleep-related infant death investigations, and youth suicide investigations. The trainings are free of charge.
The GBI Investigative Division has 15 regional child abuse specialists, one within each of the GBI Regional Field Offices. These agents are available at the request of the district attorney, the police chief, or the sheriff and can provide numerous avenues of assistance with an investigation, including forensic interviews and scene investigations. Child Abuse Specialists are available for training regarding profiles of child sex offenders, child abduction and homicide, and interviewing victims.
Staff:
Lora Darrisaw, MD:
Dr. Darrisaw is the Director of Pediatric Forensic Pathology. She completed her undergraduate degree from Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 1985 and received her medical degree from the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 1995. She completed her pathology residency at the Medical College of Wisconsin Affiliated Hospitals in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 1999. Dr. Darrisaw moved on to a fellowship in Pediatric Pathology at Texas Children's Hospital, Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas. Following that, she finished another fellowship, this one in forensic pathology, at the Medical College of Georgia in Augusta, GA in conjunction with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation in 2002. Dr. Darrisaw joined the Georgia Bureau of Investigation Medical Examiner's Office as an associate medical examiner in 2002.
Dr. Darrisaw specializes in pediatric pathology and the evaluation of fatal and non-fatal pediatric injury.
Resources:
Child Fatality Review, https://gbi.georgia.gov/CFR
The National Center for Fatality Review and Prevention, https://www.ncfrp.org
CDC SUIDI Reporting Form, https://www.cdc.gov/sids/SUIDRF.htm
Georgia Safe to Sleep Campaign, https://dph.georgia.gov/safetosleep
Stephanie V. Blank Center for Safe and Healthy Children, https://www.choa.org/medical-services/child-protection-advocacy-center
Georgia Center for Child Advocacy, https://georgiacenterforchildadvocacy.org