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Preparing Children for Court: A Practitioner's Guide

NCJ Number
184939
Author(s)
Lynn M. Copen
Date Published
2000
Length
189 pages
Annotation
Intended as an aid for social workers, court educators, victim/witness specialists, law enforcement personnel, therapists, and attorneys, this book suggests ways to help child victims of abuse negotiate legal systems without negative consequences.
Abstract
The opening chapter touts the "court educator" as the foundation for preparing the child victim-witness for a court appearance. This chapter discusses the need for a court educator, possible functions of a court educator, common problems encountered in learning the basic rules of court, and suggested tools and supplies. The second chapter provides guidelines for preparing to perform duties and functions. Topics addressed are assessment of the case, the court educator as a potential witness, and safety and security issues. A chapter on communicating with child witnesses considers facts about children's language skills, potential sources of information about a child witness' communication skill or limitation, communication problems with multiple events or "repeated acts" cases, and the need to "anchor" a witness during a conversation or testimony. Another chapter provides instruction on meeting the parent and child, with attention to working with the child (separating the parent and child and education and assessment). Debriefing, celebrating efforts, the verdict, and sentencing are also discussed in this chapter. Remaining chapters focus on the responsibilities of the court educator, lawyer, and therapist, as well as a prosecutor's perspective on court preparation. Appended supplementary information, 43 references, and a subject index