In the state of Oregon the legislature mandates that each county has a Multi Disciplinary Team (MDT). Generally this team is chaired by the District Attorney’s (DA) office.

In Deschutes County, the DA gave the role of the chair to Kids Intervention and Diagnostic Service (KIDS) Center, the local child advocacy center.  Currently KIDS Center provides the Chair and the MDT Coordinator for the bi-monthly meetings.

The MDT Chair serves as the facilitator of the meeting and ensures that all cases receive a fair and thorough review, while the MDT Coordinator creates and manages the organizational structure and agenda for each meeting.  The Coordinator is also responsible to ensure that accurate information is recorded and maintained.

The Deschutes County MDT consists of representatives from key agencies including Law Enforcement agencies, the District Attorney’s office, the Department of Human Services Child Welfare (DHS), the school district, Deschutes County Mental Health, Juvenile Parole and Probation, Court Appointed Special Advocate Program (CASA), Deschutes County Public Health, the Medical Director at the KIDS Center, a representative from the Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners (SANE) at St. Charles Medical Center, the KIDS Center Family Advocate, KIDS Center forensic interviewer and others. 

The goal of the MDT is to support children and youth in Deschutes County by bringing together agencies to work collaboratively on the issue of child abuse in an effort to protect and best serve the needs of child victims and their families.

There are two types of MDT meetings that take place in Deschutes County: case reviews and trainings.

Case review meetings take place twice a month, generally the first and third Wednesday of every month, and their purpose is to review cases and make sure that Deschutes County victims of child abuse and their families receive the best services available to reduce the effect of trauma and to ensure that abuse will not occur again.

A core group of agency representatives participate in case reviews and generally they represent agencies who directly investigate the incidents of abuse. Currently the core group includes:  the DA, DHS, LEA, KC, Mental Health, Juvenile Parole and Probation, and Medical providers.

The team reviews the following cases:  all physical abuse cases (Karly’s Law) cases; all sexual abuse cases seen at KIDS Center where a disclosure was made, and any cases that MDT members feel should be discussed during case review.

The quarterly meetings take place four times a year. All Deschutes County MDT members are invited to these meetings. The purpose is to provide trainings on the topic of child abuse investigations as well as to discuss any agenda items that relate to the entire MDT.

In Crook County, the MDT functions basically the same way, but is chaired by the District Attorneys' office.