Training Child Welfare Workers and Supervisors on Child Sexual Abuse Interviewing

1. Training Child Welfare Workers and Supervisors on Child Sexual Abuse Interviewing Colleen Friend, PhD. LCSW Director, CSULA Child Abuse and Family Violence Institute cfriend@calstatela.edu For 17th National Conference on Child Abuse and Neglect April, 2009 Atlanta, GA

2. Overview • First: Provide Background and Briefly Train You on this Method, then Explain the Specific Training Conducted • Background on Interviewing Training • Role of the Supervisor • National Institute on Child Health Development Protocol • Ten Step Investigative Interview (Tom Lyon) • Key Features of the Training and Results • Exercise: Lets Try it Here • Trainer’s Perceptions • Issues for Replication in Your Community • Summary

3. Background: Interview Training • This training was offered at the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services, in partnership with the IUC Center on Child Welfare. (Donna Toulmin, Director, (213) 743-2429) • This agency offers 1 day of Interview Training in its New Worker Academy; this was offered as an in-service training for both workers and supervisors. • The literature is clear that it is difficult to get trainees to adopt a new interviewing behavior. • What are the key ingredients? • Periodic reinforcement training • Supervisory follow up

4. Role of Supervisor • In PCW, supervisors are the key to skill retention • Reasons for training workers and supervisors together: According to research, supervisors’ continued supervision and intensive feedback was the third component in achieving long term improvement in the quality of information obtained from children. What were the other two? 1) operationalizing well established principles in the initial training and 2) distributing the training over time (Lamb, Sternberg, Orbach, Esplin & Mitchell, 2002)

5. Role of the Supervisor • Value of “supervisor as coach model” in PCW: supervisor may intervene in problem behaviors without using terminology that appears to link the supervision with counseling and/or therapy (Marshall, 2006). • A coach acts as a guide by challenging and supporting people in achieving their personal and organizational performance objectives (Crane, as cited in Marshall, 2006). • Coaching Theory: Workers perform better when the supervisor: • Builds on their strengths • Acknowledges progress with short statements: good, nice job, etc. • And provides honest, intensive feedback • Since more workers than supervisors attended, some workers were asked to take that role and look for opportunities to do this in the training

6. National Institute on Child Heath Development Protocol • Protocol developed in late 1990’s • Tested in: Israel, USA, UK, Canada • Orbach, Hershkowitz, Lamb, Sternberg, Esplin & Horowitz (2000) published in Child Abuse and Neglect • Protocol enhanced children’s ability to provide information through narrative. • Special benefit for reluctant children • Has been tested on children with intellectual and communication disorders, and has proved useful. • Focus: enhancing children’s narrative responses • Removes the interviewer from the “issue”

7. Reluctance • Important to help interviewers recognize it • Work with interviewers to contain: 1) becoming more focused and 2) showing frustration (Lamb et al. , 2008) • There are ways to address this in the NICHD • Spend more time on rapport building practice narratives • Show support (subtitle, rather than overt) • Respond,“Its really important for me to know what happened.” • Wait time • On intellectual and communication difficulties • This protocol treats these children as experts in their own experiences • Just with some problems in telling about it • Many children in the child welfare population have these “delay” issues

8. Ten Step Investigative Interview • Adaption of the NICHD Protocol to be user friendly • Follow along in the handout • Meant to be a “lap guide” • Lyon developed a DVD to explain its use : Interviewing Children: Getting More with Less; available free to professionals. • DVD can be used to anchor the training, but it must be periodically stopped and trainees engaged.

9. Limitations • These instructions ( in the handout) increase accuracy and decrease suggestibility • Limitations: • Children younger than 5 (or developmentally delayed to a level younger than 5) may not understand the instructions • Suggestive interviewing can overwhelm the effect of instructions

10. Practice Narratives • When you ask a question, make sure to include wait time. • Can also ask about a school event, rather than a holiday (may be culture bound). • You are using the same prompts you will use later (remember it is suppose to be a practice) so in this way, you are training the child on what to expect.

11. Lets watch Mathew (allegedly witnessed the mother’s murder by the father) • Mathew is 6, he lives with paternal grandfather • Notice: How does Tom ( the interviewer) introduce himself? • What did you notice about his demeanor, was it friendly? • Does he cover all the instructions? • How did he move to allegation phase? • Could you have asked questions that got at all the child revealed through narrative?

12. Allegation Phase • Caution: Most interviewers are much to specific • What are some good transitions to move into this phase? Here is one: Now that I have gotten to know you a little better, I have some more questions for you. Can you think of one? • Interviewers do need to personalize this, but stay within bounds. • After the transition, important to say, “Tell me why I came to talk to you.” • Notice the 5 options under #7

13. Allegation Phase (cont.) • What can you do if the child says, “I don’t know.” or, “ Do I have to?” • Try, “It’s really important that…” then wait • If no response, move down the line on #7 (see handout) • Lets watch Ashley, notice her reluctance and the interviewer’s response; be prepared to tell me everything you noticed about his response to her.

14. Key Features of the Training • Clear operationalizing of principles: Trainer lecture and use of DVD • Analysis of DVD examples • Whole class practice exercise: Illustrates that this looks deceptively easy • Small group vignettes: cognitive applications with reluctant child examples • Exercise in Trios ( CSW, Child, SCSW) : 1) Personalize the Ten Step 2) Debrief 3) Practice with Vignette 4) Use Reinforcement Checklist 5) Supervisor provides feedback 6) Debrief • See attached Reinforcement Check list.

15. Training Results • See attached documents • This training was held in March, 2009 with 28 CSW/ SCSW participants; not everyone filled out a post training inventory and satisfaction survey • Responses to questions H-V or A-S: Pretraining knowledge 16% Training valuable 77% Will share with colleagues 88% Confidence in incorporating in my work 77% Will use checklist w/ SCSW 1x per week 66% Likely to attend reinforcement training 77%

16. Training results • What worked? • Samples of questions NOT to ask • Video samples on how its done. Practicing in class. • Video and practice and feedback • Practice and video • Take the time to wait for child to respond. To remind myself by not to ask “can you” • Actually doing it • Asking, tell me more questions rather than “can you” questions. Taking more time • Adapting original concepts to personal style • Instruction, video • Interviewing and using 10 Steps on other clients too • The role play and sample vignettes • Using “tell me” instead of “can you” • Not using “yes” or “no: questions • Class participation, class discussions and vignettes • The knowledgeable trainer, the trainer tools and that is it applicable to my job • Hands on and practice • Was allowed to stay where the child is at by waiting for an answer

17. Training results • What did not work? • The promise to the child • Using the word, “promise” • The lecture was long • Concrete templates don’t always work for me • Some of the methods do not necessarily apply to DCFS interviewing. Ex. Using this method would let us disclose the reporting party • The promise and revealing of reporting party on the allegation by saying “I heard you told…” • Hard to follow all that matters in an interview • I was not able to practice being the CSW

18. Trainer’s Observations • Good news and bad news: • More than ¾ confident incorporating • Exactly 2/3 were committing to use the checklist with the supervisor • More than ¾ will return for reinforcement • Those who were not confident in incorporating identified needing more training, practice and supervision. • Positive narrative: exercises were helpful, learned some new things.

19. Trainer’s Observations • CSWs had concerns about : 1) Promise may replicate what the perpetrator said to the child to keep him / her quiet 2) Saying I heard you saw (it was not told) may lead to revealing the reporting party. • Not everyone has the same learning style • Theme: Need more training and practice, all CSWs should receive this training

20. Practice Exercise • One of us will volunteer to be the interviewee (criteria discussed in the training) • We will practice (one by one) giving the instructions and asking narrative questions. The whole class will become the interviewer, asking questions sequentially • Interviewee shakes head to any yes/no question; answer any “Why” question as briefly as possible and other questions one sentence at a time, initially • Interviewer gets one more chance to ask an open ended question if they receive a non-verbal response • In round 2, the interviewee’s responses to narrative questions can be longer

21. Replication Issues • This training utilizing the DVD is easily replicated, however trainees need to be engaged. • The trainer would need to have expertise in CSA interviewing and PCW issues (NOTE: The concern about mandatory reporting) to be able to negotiate these in the training moment. • Does your local area already use a different protocol? Political issues to be discussed. • The 10 Step can be “sold” for its simplicity and its utility and for getting the interviewer out of the way. • Important to solicit PCW agency buy in for: 1) Supervisory reinforcement and 2) Skill refresher sessions. How could that be done? • Paradox: Deceptively easy

22. Summary • Training offered to PCW workers and supervisors emphasized • Deceptively easy • Difficult to change • Supervisory follow up; periodic reinforcement • Narrative prompts elicit more info, and gets the interviewer out of the way • Special benefit: Reluctant Children • This 10 step is an adaptation of research based NICHD protocol • Results: 75% were confident incorporation; 66% committed to using checklist with supervisor and 75% will return for reinforcement; overall narrative comments positive. • Replication: Can be “easily” replicated, but agency buy in should be sought for reinforcement sessions and integration within supervision.

23. References Lamb, M., Hershkowitz, I., Orbach, Y., Esplin, P. (2008). Tell me what happened: Structured investigative interviews of child victims and witnesses. West Sussex, England: John Wiley and Sons Ltd. Lamb, M., Sternberg, K.,. Orbach, Y., Esplin, P., & Mitchell, S. (2002) Is ongoing feedback necessary to maintain the quality of investigative interviews with allegedly abused children? Applied Developmental Science, 6, 35-41. Lyon, T. (2007) Interviewing Children: Getting More with Less. DVD prepared with assistance from the California Endowment. Los Angeles. Email: tlyon@law.usc.edu Professionals who interview children can obtain a free copy of the dvd from lcoleman@law.usc.edu Marshall, M. (2006) The Critical Aspects of Coaching Practice Leading to Successful Coaching Outcomes. Dissertation available at: http://www.ohiolink.edu/etd/. Email: MARSHM10@nationwide.com

24. References National Institute for Child Health Development. (2000) National Institute for Child Health Development Researchers Improve Techniques for Interviewing Child Abuse Victims.Available at: http://www.nichd.nih.gov Orbach, Y., Hershkowitz, I., Lamb, M., Sternberg, K., Esplin, P. & Horowitz, D. (2000). Assessing the value of structured protocols for forensic interviews of alleged abused victims. Child Abuse and Neglect, 24, 733-752. Pipe, M., Lamb, M., Orbach, Y., & Cederborg, A. (2007). Child sexual abuse: Disclosure, delay and denial. Manhwah, NJ: Erlbaum