In 1985, Roberta Hibbard, MD, then a new faculty member in the Indiana University School of Medicine Department of Pediatrics, founded the Division of Child Protection. The division was established to provide comprehensive medical evaluations for suspected child abuse and neglect victims, crisis counseling services for families, and leadership in education, communication and coordination of services around child maltreatment issues. Over the last several years, the Child Protection Programs faculty have consulted for health care providers, Department of Child Services child protection family case managers and law enforcement on over 5,000 to 6,000 cases of possible child maltreatment each year.
Today, this program encompasses a professional team of highly dedicated physicians, nurses, social workers, health educators and ancillary staff, with faculty members who are board-certified in child abuse pediatrics. This program provides 40 to 50 educational programs each year to multidisciplinary professionals statewide to advance the medical role in child protection through improving knowledge, communication and coordination when child abuse or neglect is suspected. The division heads a program known as Docs InCASE (Indiana Child Abuse Screening and Education) and partners with community pediatricians throughout Indiana.
As the Division of Child Protection continues to expand its impact, Hibbard, along with Ralph Hicks, MD, who have each played pivotal roles in shaping the division’s mission and success, will retire at the end of June 2025. Their contributions have left a legacy within the division, the Department of Pediatrics and throughout the state of Indiana.
From the beginning with Roberta Hibbard
Hibbard first became interested in medicine during a physiology class in high school. Upon entering medical school, her initial interest was internal medicine. However, through her medical training she truly enjoyed working with families and children, which eventually led her to the pediatric specialty. Hibbard’s interest in child protection originally began during her chief residency at the University of California, Irvine and deepened during her fellowship at University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry.
.png?h=271&w=450&rev=e36be9fc28b44b2a8dd80876a3a1ab24&hash=829199FC47C19116E61244C754BF0836 "Team photo of the Division of Child Protection | Photo by Shannon Thomspon, Division of Child Protection")
Around that time, Hibbard spoke with her mother, a kindergarten teacher, who mentioned a student was drawing bizarre images in pre-screening for kindergarten. Hibbard encouraged her mother to ask her student open-ended questions when she started school. Just before school started, Hibbard’s mother was informed that her student was, in fact, being sexually abused. This experience profoundly impacted Hibbard and led her to focus her fellowship research on child protection.
Peggy Box, a social worker in the division who has worked with Hibbard since 1991, described her as a trailblazer in delivering competent and compassionate medical care to children who have experienced abuse and neglect. Box said Hibbard's unwavering dedication to these children has been truly inspiring and that she will be deeply missed upon her retirement.
“She is not only an excellent medical provider but has also always been a savvy influencer — even before the term became popular,” Box shared. “Dr. Hibbard has always been ready to seize opportunities and challenges others to think bigger. I will greatly miss her seasoned wisdom and her ability to navigate through turbulent times with steady guidance.”
Nearly 18 years of Ralph Hicks’ inspiration
Hicks is originally from Louisville, Kentucky, where he completed medical school. He first became interested in pediatrics during his third year of medical school during his clinical experience because the people he worked with sparked his interest in the field. In the 1980s, he completed pediatrics residency and a fellowship in pediatric infectious disease at The Children’s Mercy Hospital in Kansas City, Missouri. He stayed there for two years in the general pediatrics section, which is when he became interested in child abuse and neglect. In 1989, he joined Wright State University and Children’s Medical Center in Dayton, Ohio working in medical education and general pediatrics, and as the physician member of the hospital’s child abuse team.
.jpeg?h=300&w=400&rev=4461e144c1ed4c6dad2afe54911ed310&hash=EF988BFA112BC5BEB2CA3241F1E26791 "Hicks stands with his current fellows. | Photo by Shannon Thompson, Division of Child Protection")
Marissa, J. Luoma, MD, MS, a fellow and now faculty colleague of Hicks, said his early research has been the cornerstone of important topics in their field. His work explored critical topics such as the incidence of fractures among young children with burns and the identification of subconjunctival hemorrhages as a sign of nonaccidental trauma. Luoma said she has valued working with Hicks because of his commitment to inclusivity, advocacy and trainee wellness. An example of this was his effort to improve the department’s fellowship interview process, making it more holistic in how applicants were selected, interviewed and ranked.As Hicks approaches retirement, Luoma shared that she will especially miss his generosity in sharing resources and guidance, as well as the mentorship he consistently provided throughout the department.
“He is a strong advocate in speaking out for those who are not in the position to speak for themselves, and words cannot express how amazing a mentor he is,” Luoma shared. “He is always available not only for clinical questions but helping deal with hardships in the field and their effect on work-life balance. He always has an article or book to reference and share with any clinical question I have asked him. His guidance has helped shape me into the physician I am.”
Q&A with Hibbard and Hicks
Question: What do you consider your greatest accomplishment during your time with the Division of Child Protection?
Roberta Hibbard: Building this program and watching it grow. Getting people around the entire state to see how important communication and cooperation is to help children. I helped bring the role of medical providers into child protection, but we need everyone to help put the child first. I have worked with many people around the state, from judges to law enforcement. Specifically, Chief Justice Loretta Rush was honored in Tippecanoe, Indiana. During the meeting, Rush stated, “Oh Dr. Hibbard, we are so happy when you and your team are involved in our cases because we know we will get an objective assessment.”
Ralph Hicks: I have tried to be a good team member within the division, both as a clinician and collaborator with everyone I work with. Our fellowship training program, which was starting during my first year here, is something I am really proud of. I was asked to become program director when our first program director left in 2012. While we have not had a fellow every year, when we have had fellows, they have been a joy. In fact, my most exciting year was when we had three fellows, one in every year of training. All three of those wonderful fellows have stayed as faculty, which really leaves our program in a great place with two retirements this year.
Q: What advice do you have for future faculty members, students or mentees?
Hibbard: I always recommend to our young fellows and faculty to set some goals for themselves. Professional and personal. Long-term and short-term goals. I still have a list of goals written from 30 to 40 years ago. Goals can be changed, but have an idea of where you want to go and what you want to do. Focus on where you want to go. Revisit your goals and be alert for opportunities. When they come, take advantage of them. Do not be afraid to start small and expand. Focus on small steps. Young learners need to have face-to-face conversations. Have a personal connection. And find a mentor.
Hicks: Never be afraid to reach out for help. Ask questions. Ask mentors or colleagues regardless of the setting you may be in. Also, I wish I would have been better at remembering to keep in touch with people from the past that impacted my journey. Stay connected!
Q: What is an important lesson you have learned during your time here?
Hibbard: Having a mentor. I have a very dear friend, Don Orr, MD. We met in California when I was a pediatric intern, and he was an attending physician. He has always acted as a sounding board, provided guidance, been a friend, a colleague, and he helped brainstorm ideas. That has made all the difference in the world in my career.
Hicks: Collaboration and teamwork are one of the most important lessons. We do not want to and cannot work in silos. We work with others when we see patients. We collaborate every day. Research has shown that we are more accurate in our clinical assessments when we work as part of a multidisciplinary team, and families and children are more likely to receive the help and services they need. It is important that communication stays open with other specialists. As a child abuse pediatrician, it is important to understand other specialists' views of a clinical situation when forming our medical assessment and not overstep our limits.
Q: What is one thing you look forward to in retirement?
Hibbard: Spending time with grandchildren. I have kids in central Indiana and one son in Montana; my sister is in California. I am looking forward to not working around scheduled meetings. Free time to travel and spend time with my 3, 5, 6 and 13-year-old grandchildren. I want to try painting. Watch YouTube videos on how to paint. I have wanted to do watercolor painting for 20 years. Now I finally have time to try it.
Hicks: Seeing my grandchildren more; they are in Colorado with my daughter and her husband. I also want to spend more time with other family members.
Q: What are you going to miss most about your job?
Hibbard: My colleagues and sharing knowledge, information and experiences with them. So many of the things we do in this field require talking with many people to see how to move forward. My team has always helped work through how to move forward on difficult cases. I am open to staying connected. Call me. I would love to still be around to help.
Hicks: The people who I work with every day. Having fellows and trainees that we mentor.
Q: How do you envision your legacy, and what do you hope people will remember most about your career?
Hibbard: My legacy is this program. Recognizing that pediatricians have a lot to bring to the table when evaluating child abuse. Specialists are needed, and so is communication and cooperation. I was able to help people recognize the role pediatricians play and requiring a specialist child abuse pediatrician is important. Each of our disciplines have one piece of the pie. Communicate and coordinate.
Hicks: I hope that people look at me as someone who was solid clinically. I hope that I have helped others learn about our field and what we do. While I have always been a clinical faculty member, I also really enjoyed being involved with clinical research. While my contributions to the literature are modest, collaboration played a huge role, and I really enjoyed it.
Q: Is there anything else you would like to share?
Hibbard: Recognizing the unique opportunities we have at IU and Riley to move things forward. Rich Schneider once shared, “If it’s good for the kids, hospital, community, do not let someone tell you that you cannot do it.” It takes your own personal time and commitment, but if you put in the work, it will happen. We have had tremendous support from the IU School of Medicine, Riley Hospital for Children and the community in developing what we do. Our program continues to be strongly supported by the pediatric leadership and especially Wade Clapp, our department chair.
Hicks: When I interviewed for the position here, one of the things that was clear to me was that the Department of Pediatrics at IU School of Medicine puts a high priority on our teaching. In addition, Riley Hospital for Children recognizes the importance of education and the work our trainees are doing. As far as our Child Protection program, I can truly say our division is in good hands. We have excellent nurses, nurse practitioners, social workers, administrative and support staff, physicians and leadership with Dr. (Shannon) Thompson.
