CALICO conducts over 700 forensic interviews annually at our child-friendly spaces in San Leandro and the Family Justice Center in Oakland. At our main facility in San Leandro the interviewing rooms are painted with welcoming murals and the family and child waiting areas are equipped with art supplies, toys, videos and books, in English and Spanish. At the Family Justice Center CALICO Corner consists of three brightly painted rooms adorned with nature photos and KidZone, a spacious colorful play area, boasts toys, puzzles, books and games. These warm environments create trust and a feeling of safety, an important foundation to the interview.
At both sites, forensic interviewers trained to work with children of all ages meet one-on-one with each child, listening to his/her story and asking non-leading questions appropriate to the child's developmental level. The interview is preserved through audio and video recordings, with multi-disciplinary team members observing in an adjacent room. The team, typically comprised of a detective, child welfare worker, prosecutor, and interviewer, meet before and after the interview to discuss the case and decide on appropriate, coordinated action. Each child leaves with a stuffed animal or blanket donated by community partners.
The goal of our forensic interviewing services is to minimize the number of times a child must describe his/her abuse, reduce trauma from participating in a child abuse investigation, and collect high-quality information that can withstand court scrutiny. Prior to CALICO's founding, child abuse victims were forced to tell their stories in unsuitable environments such as police cars, noisy offices, or the child's home with the offender in the next room, and to do so more than once. Such practices led to poor information, skepticism about the child's credibility, and unnecessary re-victimization of the child. Research and CALICO's own data show that a single recorded forensic interview - conducted by a professional child interviewer such as those employed at our center - minimizes investigation-related trauma, improves the systems' response, and promotes the healing process.
The CALICO interview process effectively serves the child as well our the social-service, law enforcement and legal partners.
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