What is a
Forensic Interview?
If
you have received a call from either CPS or Law
Enforcement asking you to bring your child to The CASIE
Center for a forensic interview you naturally wonder:
What is a forensic interview?
When most
people hear the word forensic, immediately they think
“CSI.” However, in the world of child advocacy centers,
it is not nearly so dramatic.
 Here
at The CASIE Center a forensic interview means a
child-friendly, neutral, non-leading discussion about an
event that is in question. A child sits down with a
forensic interviewer in a one-on-one setting that
provides the child a reasonable opportunity to present
his or her information.
A child
comes to the center because there has been a report made
that the child has experienced some form of abuse, be it
physical or sexual in nature. In some instances, a
child may have witnessed violence either at home or in
some other circumstance. The job of the forensic
interviewer is to allow the child to tell about that
event in a way that it appears to be a discussion, not
an interrogation, completely non-threatening and in
language not suggested to the child by the interviewer.
The child is given the opportunity to describe an event
in his or her own words, in a manner that is age
appropriate to the child rather than the interviewer.
A forensic
interview is a fact-finding interview and it is
defendable should it ever be used in a court setting.
It is not an interview full of leading or suggestive
questions. It is marked by open-ended questions
generated by the interviewer as a response to
information the child gives.
While the
child and interviewer are talking and drawing in the
interview room the interview is being watched by a
multidisciplinary team made up of law enforcement, a
child protective service case manager, a victim-witness
advocate, and a deputy prosecutor present in a separate
room. The child, though aware the interview is being
recorded, does not see these other team members. These
team members, while watching, are able to communicate
with the interviewer by a bug-in-the-ear system. They
have the ability to send in questions to her if they
need to do so. This practice reduces the need for
multiple interviews
More often
than not, after the interview children either ask to
stay and play longer or ask when they can return. |
