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Child Interview Techniques
Length of Seminar:
2.5 Days
Instructor: Mary Everhart
Course Overview:
This class is designed to give the attendee a working
knowledge of how to interview children. Material will be
presented on developmental issues, linguistic issues, and
the need for understanding cultural difference in interviewing
children, as well as when it may be necessary to only gather
background information and pass the interview on to another
agency. In many professions, there is the possibility of
the need to gather information from a child. It is important
to understand, how that information is obtained may affect
its usefulness, and accuracy.
Forensic interviews of children require specialized
skills and attention to child development issues. School
personnel and School Resource Officers are often the first
person a child trust to tell things that have happened to
them or that they may have observed. It is important to
make sure that the first person to speak with the child
does not taint the interview. In this block of instruction
we will look at developmental issues as well as the types
of interviews that are conducted with children.
Performance Objectives:
At the end of this
block of instruction the student, will be able to:
- Define Interview.
- Define Interrogate.
- Define Forensic Interview.
- Define Therapeutic Interview.
- Explain how these two types of Interviews may be combined.
- Discuss three ways a School Resource Officer or teacher
may be required to do an initial interview with a child.
- Identify Interview issues for different age children.
- Explain why the setting of the interview is important.
Identify some factors besides age, that affect how a
child
will function during an interview.
- Discuss why rapport is a fundamental requirement for
a successful interview.
- Explain the importance of using age appropriate language.
- Explain the difference between a leading question and
open-ended directive question.
- Identify seven possible blocks to interviewing children.
- Explain why keeping adequate records are vital.
- Discuss the four types of questions that are used when
interviewing children and be able to explain which is
best, and why.
- Explain when an interview should be conducted by someone
else.
- Explain why it is imperative to know your states reporting
laws.
- Discuss the pre-interview process, and why it is useful.
- Explain the rights of a child suspect dealing with
the Miranda Issue.
- Explain what due process rights a juvenile suspect
has, if any.
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