Forensic
Interviews
National Children's Alliance states that the purpose of Child Advocate Center forensic interviews is to facilitate information gathering from children to determine whether abuse occurred and, if so, the nature of the allegations. This information is intended to contribute to accurate and fair decision-making by the MDT members relative to the criminal justice, child protection, and relevant service delivery systems.
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The goal is to have the child tell their story once in a child-friendly, developmentally and culturally responsive, unbiased, fact-finding, and legally sound environment. It is to ensure the child feels as comfortable as possible in a traumatic experience and not have to retell the event multiple times to multiple people and risk retraumatizing the child with each occurrence.
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WHAT TO EXPECT | PREPARING FOR FORENSIC INTERVIEWS
HOW DOES THE PROCESS WORK?
This video explains what a child forensic interview process looks like at a child advocacy center. Our forensic interviews work to protect children during a criminal investigation. When a referral is made; we meet with the referring agency contact to go over the details of the investigation.
The Durant Children's Center forensic interviewers are trained and adhere to research-based forensic interview guidelines that create an interview environment that enables free recall,
minimizes interviewer influence, and gathers information needed by all the MDT members to avoid duplication of the interview process.
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1. Meet with the referral agency to gather details
2. Meet with the parent or guardian of the child to schedule an interview and answer any questions
3. Meet with the child to conduct the interview
4. Provide information to referral agency and MDT review
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FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS