A section on "Sensitizing Your Practice to Child Victims" first discusses the vulnerability of children to criminal behavior as well as the severe consequences of victimization for children. This section cautions against "re-victimizing" child victims in criminal justice processing and provides guidelines for "becoming a child-friendly professional." The section on "communicating with child victims/witnesses" addresses the impact of trauma on child development and reviews the stages of children's language development. The section on "interviewing child victims and witnesses" provides a suggested protocol for forensic interviewing of child victims/witnesses. Guidelines for "preparing children for court" suggests how to help children feel comfortable in court and the use of age-appropriate language for children in court. Other sections of the handbook address the use of child victim-witness specialist/advocates, trial preparation for the severely traumatized child, the education of juries and judges regarding child witnesses, victim impact statements for children, children who witness violent crime, and child victims of abduction. The handbook concludes with sections on children and post-traumatic stress disorder, as well as resources for information and training. 44 references