Jennifer Canter MD, MPH, FAAP, CLCP, CRC
Program Director

Dr. Jennifer Canter is a board-certified pediatrician and sub-specialist in Child Abuse Pediatrics. She’s led the Child Abuse Pediatrics programs at Maria Fareri Children’s Hospital at WMCHealth, Westchester Institute for Human Development, and New York Medical College since 2002. She is a Professor of Pediatrics at the New York Medical College School of Medicine and a Professor of Disability and Health at the New York Medical College School of Health Sciences and Practice. Given her interest in long-term outcomes for adults and children with physical and developmental disabilities, after catastrophic injury, Dr. Canter achieved certification as a life care planner (CLCP) and vocational evaluator (CRC) in 2016. Dr. Canter is chief of the Section of Child Abuse Pediatrics at Westchester Medical Center (WMCHealth) and is widely published in the field (click here to see Dr. Canter’s research profile). She’s testified as an expert in civil and criminal proceedings across the country in the areas of sexual/physical abuse, adult/child long-term care needs (life care planning and vocational rehabilitation), and child fatalities.

Lorraine Ronca, DO, FAAP
Assistant Program Director

Dr. Lorraine Ronca is a board-certified pediatrician and sub-specialist in Pediatric Emergency Medicine.  She joined the Child Abuse Pediatrics program at the Westchester Institute for Human Development in 2014 after a 20-year career as an attending physician in the pediatric emergency department in the Children’s Hospital at Montefiore in Bronx, NY.  Dr. Ronca is an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at the New York Medical College School of Medicine and an attending in the Section of Child Abuse Pediatrics at WMCHealth.  She completed further training in sexual abuse by completing the Child Abuse Medical Providers of New York (CHAMP) coursework as well as the Child Abuse Pediatrics Program-New York Medical College Collaborative Practice Program. Dr. Ronca is a leader in the field in New York State in the area of program development/certification and quality control for in the evaluation of children/teens with concerns for sexual abuse/assault; particularly assuring a proper expert referral process for the emergency departments covered in our catchment area.  In her role as Assistant Program Director, Dr. Ronca conducts and/or supervises medical assessments of children referred to WIHD for concerns for sexual abuse from Westchester, Putnam, Sullivan, Orange, Dutchess, and Rockland counties.