Once a report of suspected child abuse has been made, your child will be interviewed at the CACSC by an investigator with the Exploited and Missing Child Unit. When you arrive, a Child Family Advocate will meet you in the lobby and take you to a private family room.
Your Advocate will offer a snack and drink, and go over our caregiver handbook. The handbook is yours to take home. It provides helpful phone numbers, supportive information, discusses services available to you and answers many questions you may have. Advocates can answer questions and provide resources to other services outside our organization if necessary.
All investigators must complete specialized training in order to appropriately talk with children about what has happened to them or what they witnessed. This training teaches the investigators to speak to children in an unbiased way and developmentally appropriate manner, allowing the child to lead the conversation. Everyone is interviewed separately in order to maintain the validity of the information obtained. While the child is being interviewed, the caregiver will have the opportunity to discuss family needs with the Child/Family Advocate in a private family room. During this time, the child will be supervised by the Child/Family Advocate in a child/teen friendly setting. Remember – this is an interview process, not an interrogation.
Interviewers will also take the time to make sure your child is comfortable without you in the room. They will greet you in the family room first and make sure the child knows where you will be during the interview, and that you are always available at any time if necessary. At the end of the interview, the Investigator or social worker will let you know what will happen next. The CACSC team will meet to discuss the best ways to help support you, and your Advocate or social worker will contact you at a later time with more detailed information.
To better understand the different roles of our team, read more here.
