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  Home
Preparing Victim Service Providers and Children for Court
 
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I recently received an email from someone who wrote that peer-reviewed studies have shown that when children testify by closed circuit tv (i.e., do not testify from the stand in the courtroom), it biases j...
Kim
03/27/2008
arrow icon I'm aware of the study and, based on my own experiences, I...
Victor Vieth
03/27/2008
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END GUEST HOST SESSION - Thank you for participating in OVC’s Web Forum Guest Host Session Series. We hope this discussion will help you better serve crime victims. Please continue to discuss this an...
OVCRC
03/26/2008
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|Total Postings: 0 | Total Postings: 0
 
How effective is having children draw their family portraite in a custody or child abuse case?
Marie Daramy
03/26/2008
arrow icon Drawings can be very helpful to children. It allows them to ...
Victor Vieth
03/27/2008
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I am brand new to my Victim Advocate position, and I just began to see clients. Is there a right or wrong way in preparing a victim for testimony? Or what methods have been most successful in preparing the...
KL
03/26/2008
arrow icon I am new to this position and an agent at a state level law ...
Vli
01/05/2009
arrow icon In my response to other inquiries I've offered a variety of ...
Victor Vieth
03/27/2008
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Do you have any suggestions that are specifically targeted at preparing persons (including children) with mental disabilities for court? Particularly when we have a sexual assault charge, we are required ...
Dennis Dunn
03/26/2008
arrow icon Laura Rogers, who now Directs the SMART Office for the Depar...
Victor Vieth
03/27/2008
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Can you help me so that when I appear in court I can present my observations and analysis? Some of the time their are objections that what is said in session with my clients is hearsay. I want to know the ...
ricardo
03/26/2008
arrow icon The rules of evidence are very complicated and the rules sur...
Victor Vieth
03/27/2008
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Recently, I was asked ("could your work with the children be considered Psychological preparation for court?") Some attorneys do not want the child to be prepared, through therapy, for th...
Patti
03/26/2008
arrow icon Some have argued that abused children should not be placed i...
Victor Vieth
03/27/2008
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Sometimes during forensic interviews, older children and teens will ask about what happens next. As forensic interviewers, is there anything specific we should be telling the older kids and teens who do no...
Sarah
03/26/2008
arrow icon Although children should be advised what happens next, the f...
Victor Vieth
03/27/2008
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Constantly asking a person to prepare themselves and retell their stories as court dates approach and get pushed back time and time again is not healthy, however, it is important to adequately prepare indi...
Kaela
03/26/2008
arrow icon In most cases, I believe it's important for the child to be ...
Victor Vieth
03/27/2008
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If the defense and the judge allows it, how do you feel about letting the child who is testifying, have someone they trust sit next to them in the witness box/area. Thank you! Investigator Vicky Moreno, G...
Vicky Moreno
03/26/2008
arrow icon In every case, we should ask the child if they want a suppor...
Victor Vieth
03/27/2008
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Concerning Coporal Punishment, can children differentiate between a spanking and a beating of violence, if the action left no evidence, marks or bruses, broken bones or other mental conditions that will pe...
Marie Daramy
03/26/2008
arrow icon In every state, parents have the right to use reasonable for...
Victor Vieth
03/27/2008
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Since Crawford, we have to put every child victim on the stand. Our judges, however, find that (in and of itself) sufficient for "opportunity for cross" even when the child freezes. Wha...
M Williams
03/26/2008
arrow icon A defendant does not have the right to an effective cross-ex...
Victor Vieth
03/27/2008
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As an advocate in the District Atty Office, I just started working with children who have to testify in court. Working with children has never been my area of expertise, but I do want to be able to provide...
Ms. Noguera
03/26/2008
arrow icon I've suggested in some of my other responses some books and ...
Victor Vieth
03/27/2008
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I have discovered limited resources in helping to prepare children for court. What materials, i.e. coloring books, videos, games, etc. would you suggest to utilize in preparing child for testimony?
Crystal
03/26/2008
arrow icon SAGE publishes a book by Lynn Copen called Preparing Childre...
Victor Vieth
03/27/2008
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Could you address the current state of privacy shields and closed circuit television for use in open court settings when questioning child witnesses? How is the balance maintained between victim privacy an...
Kelli Callahan
03/26/2008
arrow icon With respect to closed ciruit televsion, the United States S...
Victor Vieth
03/26/2008
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1. What is the most challenging aspect about having a child testify? 2. Have you recognized errors made in their recollection of data? 3. What factor best determines whether the child is able to test...
Trista
03/26/2008
arrow icon The most challenging aspect typically lies not with the chil...
Victor Vieth
03/26/2008
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What are the guidelines related to Victim Advocates testifying in court and speaking at the sentencing?
Kathy Pfisterer
03/26/2008
arrow icon As for any witness, it is important to consult with the pros...
Victor Vieth
03/26/2008
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When seeing their abuser for the first time in Court, we've noted that many of our victims either freeze up (like a rabbit in the headlights) or downplay their abuse experience out of fear or the rekindlin...
Kathryn
03/26/2008
arrow icon My colleague at the National Child Protection Training Cente...
Victor Vieth
03/26/2008
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To prepare a child victim for court, my current practice is to: allow them to watch their (previously) taped interview as often as they feel they need to; allow them to sit in various chairs in the courtro...
Vicky Moreno
03/26/2008
arrow icon I believe that everything you are doing is appropriate. Allo...
Victor Vieth
03/26/2008
arrow icon I pretty much do the same thing. I think it helps the kids ...
M Williams
03/26/2008
View Details | Reply |Total Postings: 2 | Total Postings: 2
 
How do you prepare a child for testifying when there is very little support from family? I am a victim advocate in the DA's office and I often feel like I'm swimming upstream.
Cyndi Keller
03/26/2008
arrow icon First, find out why the family is not supportive. It may be ...
Victor Vieth
03/26/2008
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Please address confidentiality issues and subpoenas (including VAWA 2005 provisions) for domestic violence victim advocates who work with families involved with child protective services. We have domestic ...
Annie Neal
03/26/2008
arrow icon I have four suggestions. First, it is important to develop a...
Victor Vieth
03/26/2008
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Mr. Vieth, I have heard that your training is incredibly effective. In Massachusetts we have developed a network for law enforcement, adult protective service agencies, and direct care providers to work t...
Diane Meehan
03/26/2008
arrow icon At the National Child Protection Training Center, we have do...
Victor Vieth
03/26/2008
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I know that the prevailing wisdom for many years now has been to limit the number of interviews for child victims by co-interviewing and simply keeping them to minimum. However, what concerns me is that ...
Dennis Dunn
03/26/2008
arrow icon As a general observation, we should limit the number of inte...
Victor Vieth
03/26/2008
View Details | Reply |Total Postings: 1 | Total Postings: 1
 
Please help us with some responses (and guidelines) that can be used by professionals who are bound by law to confidentiality on certain issues ... as victim service providers, we may surely want to testif...
Susan
03/26/2008
arrow icon Your limitations will depend on your profession, the nature ...
Victor Vieth
03/26/2008
View Details | Reply |Total Postings: 1 | Total Postings: 1
 
START GUEST HOST SESSION - The Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) is pleased to welcome Victor Vieth to the OVC Web Forum. He is available to answer your questions on best practices for preparing victim ser...
OVCRC
03/26/2008
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|Total Postings: 0 | Total Postings: 0
 
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