Forensic interviewing is a means of gathering information from a victim or witness for use in a legal setting, such as a court hearing. Forensic interviews are typically conducted at children’s advocacy centers (CACs) by trained professionals, including child welfare caseworkers, law enforcement officers, and specialized forensic interviewers. The purpose of a forensic interview is to gather factual information in a legally defensible and developmentally appropriate manner about whether a child (or other person) has been maltreated.

Here are some key features of forensic interviews:

• Goal: The goal of a forensic interview is to obtain a statement from a child in an objective, developmentally sensitive, and legally defensible manner.

• Location: Forensic interviews are typically conducted at children’s advocacy centers (CACs) .

• Interviewer: Forensic interviews are conducted by trained professionals, including child welfare caseworkers, law enforcement officers, and specialized forensic interviewers.

• Process: Forensic interviews are carefully controlled to ensure that facts are gathered in a way that will stand up in court. For example, forensic interviewing techniques are designed to remove or minimize suggestive or leading questions and behaviors that may call the child’s statements into question.

• Purpose: Forensic interviews are used to gather information about incidents of alleged child maltreatment in a manner that will yield factual information from the child so that child welfare workers can make case management decisions and interview findings can stand up to scrutiny in court.

Forensic interviews can also help shape the investigation by highlighting areas for further investigation, corroboration, or evidence collection. The forensic interview is a crucial tool in child welfare, and it is often the only way an agency can learn enough to make a fact-based determination of whether child abuse has occurred.