Child Development Community Policing (CDCP) holds the core value that no child should have to wait for trauma-informed police response and coordinated clinical care. The program serves as a model for acute child trauma response across the country, and Charlotte-Mecklenburg is proud to have one of the oldest and largest programs of this kind nationwide. Clinician-Officer teams working together can provide something far better than working alone: Physical and psychological safety services provided in real-time when families need it most. CDCP clinicians and officers are cross-trained to understand the importance of swift responses for children, the impact of violence and other trauma on child development, behavior, and family function, effective acute trauma interventions, safety planning, and the community resources available to ensure families receive services that buffer, protect, and promote recovery.

Child Development Community Policing (CDCP) child trauma clinicians are available to police officers from CMPD and all 6 town police departments in Mecklenburg County 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. Together, clinician-officer teams are available free of charge to all families in Mecklenburg County.

The U. S. Justice Department's Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention recognizes the program as a successful model and has designated Yale University as the National Center for Children Exposed to Violence (NCCEV), with Charlotte-Mecklenburg as the NCCEV Southeast Regional Training Center.

The Charlotte and New Haven CDCP teams collaborated with the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) as contributors to "Enhancing Police Responses to Children Exposed to Violence: A Toolkit for Law Enforcement" available nationwide to inform police responses for children exposed to violence.