CFI CFI Child & Vulnerable Population Interviewing 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A 'multidisciplinary team' (MDT) approach to child abuse investigations typically includes which combination of professionals?
- Only law enforcement and prosecutors
- Law enforcement, child protective services, mental health professionals, and medical personnel (Correct answer)
- Forensic accountants, attorneys, and school counselors
- Teachers, school administrators, and probation officers
Correct answer: Law enforcement, child protective services, mental health professionals, and medical personnel
MDTs coordinate law enforcement, CPS, medical, and mental health professionals to investigate child abuse while minimizing trauma caused by multiple separate interviews.
Question 2: What is the recommended physical setting for a forensic interview of a child according to best practice guidelines?
- A police interrogation room to convey seriousness
- A neutral, child-friendly room free from distraction with minimal toys or props (Correct answer)
- The child's home to maximize comfort and familiarity
- A courtroom to acclimate the child to the judicial environment
Correct answer: A neutral, child-friendly room free from distraction with minimal toys or props
A neutral, minimally distracting room reduces play-based behavior and maintains the child's focus on memory recall rather than exploration.
Question 3: Anatomically detailed dolls in child forensic interviews are now generally:
- Required by federal law for all child abuse interviews
- Widely recommended as the primary disclosure tool for children under age 10
- Used cautiously and only after verbal disclosure, due to concerns about suggestibility (Correct answer)
- Prohibited in all US jurisdictions
Correct answer: Used cautiously and only after verbal disclosure, due to concerns about suggestibility
Research raised concerns that anatomically detailed dolls can prompt children to demonstrate behaviors they did not experience, so their use is now restricted to post-disclosure clarification.
Question 4: When a child spontaneously discloses abuse during a forensic interview, the recommended immediate response is to:
- Stop the interview and consult with law enforcement before proceeding
- Use an open-ended prompt such as 'Tell me more about that' to encourage elaboration (Correct answer)
- Ask a series of closed-ended confirmatory questions to lock in the account
- Express visible emotional reaction to validate the child's courage
Correct answer: Use an open-ended prompt such as 'Tell me more about that' to encourage elaboration
An open-ended follow-up prompt encourages the child to elaborate in their own words without introducing interviewer-suggested details into the account.
Question 5: Which interviewing phase directly precedes the substantive phase in the NICHD Protocol?
- Closure and support phase
- Rapport building and ground rules phase (Correct answer)
- Cross-examination simulation phase
- Evidence presentation phase
Correct answer: Rapport building and ground rules phase
The NICHD Protocol sequences rapport building, ground rules, practice narrative, and then the substantive (allegation) phase to prepare the child for open disclosure.
Question 6: Interviewing elderly witnesses or those with dementia requires the CFI to particularly attend to:
- The witness's financial records for credibility assessment
- Cognitive status, source monitoring deficits, and the impact of repeated questioning on recall (Correct answer)
- The witness's family members who can confirm or deny the account
- Whether the witness has been advised of their Fifth Amendment rights
Correct answer: Cognitive status, source monitoring deficits, and the impact of repeated questioning on recall
Dementia and cognitive decline can affect encoding, retrieval, and source monitoring, requiring the interviewer to adapt techniques and interpret responses with awareness of these limitations.
CFI CFI Child & Vulnerable Population Interviewing 2
A 'multidisciplinary team' (MDT) approach to child abuse investigations typically includes which combination of professionals?