Forensic Interviews

A forensic interview is a neutral, developmentally and culturally appropriate conversation with a child intended to elicit detailed information about a possible event(s) that the child may have experienced or witnessed. The purposes of a forensic interview are:

1. To obtain information from a child that may be helpful in a criminal investigation;

2. To assess the safety of the child;

3. To obtain information for law enforcement and child protective services to use to either support or refute allegations of child maltreatment;

4. To assess the medical and mental health needs of the child.

A forensic interview is conducted at the SECAC when there has been a report to either law enforcement or the Department of Family and Children’s Services (DFCS) that the child may have been a victim of physical or sexual abuse or when a child may have witnessed a violent crime.

​Forensic interviews are conducted by our forensic interviewers who have had at least 40 hours of specialized training on how to properly question children. The forensic interviewers also routinely participate in peer review meetings to continually develop their skills.

All forensic interviews at the South Enotah Child Advocacy Center are video recorded.