BENTONVILLE -- Agencies involved in responding to reports of child abuse must maintain a cohesive approach to investigations if offenders are to be prosecuted successfully, according to those who presented at a training seminar for law enforcement officers on Thursday.
"It's not just one agency's responsibility to respond to child abuse," said Natalie Tibbs, assistant director of the Children's Advocacy Center of Benton County. "There's lots of people that end up working with that child and family, so a big issue is that coordinated team effort."
At A Glance
Children’s Advocacy Center
The Children’s Advocacy Center of Benton County was the second children’s advocacy center in Arkansas when it opened in 2000. In 2013 the center opened 646 cases, conducted 625 forensic interviews, performed 149 forensic medical exams and provided 1,513 counseling sessions to children and their families.
Source: Staff Report
About 20 officers representing six local police departments attended the free seminar provided by the Children's Advocacy Center and the Melba Shewmaker Southern Region National Child Protection Training Center at NorthWest Arkansas Community College.
Crucial to child-abuse investigations is limiting the number of times victims are asked to explain what happened to them, Tibbs said. The more they are asked to talk about it, the more frustrated they become and the more likely it is their stories will change.
Children reported to have been victims of abuse in Benton County are typically interviewed at the Children's Advocacy Center in Little Flock, where forensic interviewers talk the children in a neutral setting to understand what abuse happened, if any.
The Children's Advocacy Center opened in 2000. Since then, prosecution rates of child-abuse cases have increased 2,000 percent, Tibbs said.
That's owed to the collaboration of a multi-disciplinary team that includes police, prosecutors, the state Department of Human Services and other investigators, Tibbs said. The team meets regularly to review high-priority cases.
Jeddi Thompson, Benton County investigations supervisor for the state's Division of Children and Family Services, listed the various kinds of abuse allegations her department investigates. Investigators consider 14 safety factors to determine whether a child should stay in the home when the department assesses situations.
"We're trying to keep children in their homes if they can be safely kept there," Thompson said. "We have a lot of ways we can help these families make better decisions to not hurt kids."
Hunter Petray, a Benton County Sheriff's Office detective, discussed some things officers should keep in mind when responding to a child-abuse complaint.
"When you're gathering facts from the parent, you don't want the child (victim) standing right there," Petray said.
It's also important to identify everyone who lives in the child's home and who else, such as neighbors, that could have come into contact with the offender, he said.
"Just remember each case is going to be unique," Petray said. "I've never worked a case that's been the same. Each case is different because there are so many dynamics."
Rita Farrell, forensic interview specialist at the National Child Protection Training Center, distributed cards to the officers listing the "ABC's" of information gathering and the most important pieces of information they should gather before contacting the state's child abuse hotline.
That information included the names of the alleged offender and child, the nature and extent of maltreatment, the location of the incident, and the name and address of the person who reported it.
Among Farrell's tips were to ask open-ended questions, pay attention to non-verbal as well as verbal responses, and avoid coercive techniques.
"The real goal when we talk to kids is to invite that narrative and have the child talk about that experience," Farrell said.
Lt. Joe Falcon of the Bentonville Police Department attended Thursday's seminar with two others from his department. They intend to share what they learned with the rest of their department's officers.
"They did a great job," Falcon said about the seminar presenters. "We came away with a really good understanding of the processes in place. It also allowed us to put together a training component. It's a great way of having cohesive training and dissemination of material so at the end of the day, whether it's a first-year officer or a senior officer, we'll be able to handle those investigations in the same manner."
The seminar is one of numerous kinds of training offered at the National Child Protection Training Center, which opened a facility at the college early this year. The center serves child-protection professionals in a 16-state region, offering training on how to recognize, report and respond to child abuse and maltreatment.
NW News on 09/26/2014