The Forensic Interview Process: At A Child Advocacy Center
Once the child is at the CAC, the child will eventually be interviewed. Only the interviewer and the child will be in the room when the interview takes place. Whoever brought the child to the CAC will NOT be permitted in the interview room with the child. In each county, the interview is observed by their Multidisciplinary Team (“MDT”). That team typically includes the detective, other members of the CAC team, the attorney who represents the state, CPS, Foster Care, etc. Every county has a slightly different set up for how those individuals observe the interview with the child. For example, some CAC’s use closed circuit tv, while some CAC’s use double sided mirrors.
Defense attorneys are not allowed to observe a child being interviewed at a CAC. That puts defense attorneys at a disadvantage. Some CACs will videotape the interview, but some do not. If the CAC does not videotape the interview, again defense attorneys are at a disadvantage. When that happens, it leaves a lot of room for assumptions and potentially unreliable information.
By hiring Blank Law, PC you know you have a skilled, experienced defense team that has:
✔Attended 1,000s of CAC interviews with children
✔Observed 1,000s of CAC interviews with children
✔ Read 1,000s of police reports generated as a result of observing an interview with children
Bottom Line: Nicole knows exactly what should happen and what should NOT happen during a CAC interview of a child.
NUMBER OF TIMES A CHILD WILL BE (SHOULD BE) INTERVIEWED
- CAC- Forensic interview
- The state may have additional questions for the child at a latter date
And that is it!
