Focus Group Table I

Table I: Summary of responses to the questions asked at the MDT focus group meetings.

I. Vision

Forensic Interviewer

Montgomery County Pulaski County

Need a trained individual to interview children, a good consistent interviewer.
The CAC offers a forensic interviewer who knows the appropriate questions to ask in the best order. Other people can be trained to be back-ups for the interviewer, maybe people who work in the agencies now? It will depend on who the best interviewers are, and we will be able to tell that when we see people interview.

We want a well-trained interviewer to do the majority of the interviews, so there will be limited problems in court.

Facility

Montgomery County Pulaski County

To be located in a stand alone facility off campus within five years
CAC site will have a one-way mirror where the investigative team can observe and hear the interviews while they are taking place. The observers will be able to feed questions to the interviewer. The interviews will be videotaped and can be viewed by the defense attorney prior to court, which may help with prosecution, i.e. plea bargains, etc. The videotapes can also be used to confront the suspect, which can be helpful in eliciting confessions.
Provide services to families, follow-up on the children’s families service needs after the investigation is completed and DSS closes the case.
Plan to provide medical exams on site
Anyone in the NRV that wants to use the CAC facility can.
Who will transport the child(ren) to the facility? The parents or the police, if DSS does not have custody?

CAC will minimize the # of interviews and length of the process, having best practice and a facility will have a minimum negative impact on the child and maximize impact on the service delivery. It offers an opportunity to enhance each MDTs work.
Need to determine the best way for the investigative team to communicate their questions to the interviewer without disrespecting the child or interrupting the interviewer.
Who will do the medical exams? Will the CAC be able to perform both chronic and acute (incident happened within the last 72 hours) exams? Is the clinic set up for a medical ER? And if they don’t want to use the CAC they don’t have to.
Jurisdictions outside the NRV can use the CAC if it will help a child.

Training

Montgomery County Pulaski County

Specialized training should be available to everyone in the NRV whether they use the CAC or not.

Include the public school teachers, counselors, and administrators (and those studying to become), and the NRV police academy trainees in relevant training offered by the CAC. Need to make a decision-making tree in the protocol to help us (police officers and CPS workers) know when a case is considered a medical emergency. Once it is developed share it with the police officers that get calls about these cases so they know who to call and what to do.

II. Structure

Regional Model

Montgomery County Pulaski County

Don’t need to staff cases from all jurisdictions together.

We need to develop a regional model where each of the five protocols for the five jurisdictions are acceptable, don’t force one protocol or procedure to fit all five jurisdictions.

Current MDT Structure

Montgomery County Pulaski County

We are a cohesive unit.
We meet consistently every other month to discuss cases.
Because of these meetings we know what is going on with each case.
Our roles are interdependent, a team of a social worker and a police officer interview both the victim and suspect.
When we work together we don’t miss important information.
We are able to bring together resources from surrounding agencies for feedback and support for the family.
Communication is very good between the sheriff’s department and other agencies.

All the players in child abuse cases in the county are here; if we didn’t have the meetings we all wouldn’t know about the cases.
(The other members) give suggestions where to go, if hit a snag, help share points that others didn’t know about.
(The meetings help with) case preparation for court.
Counselors can find out how things are going with court and help prepare the child and family for court and deal with issues around court.
We work together and do our jobs better.
(The MDT meeting) offers a chance to vent.
Forming the team was the biggest thing that made us a team.
Police can do the criminal work, can deal with the suspect, and be the bad guy. DSS can protect the child.
The work is more streamlined and more efficient, this is the only time we get together, we can talk and communicate better.

III. Student integration and curriculum model development

Montgomery County Pulaski County

How to involve students is up for discussion; don’t want students doing the forensic interviews with the children.
Not appropriate for a class to observe the interview for reasons of confidentiality.
Possibly students could be involved in the follow-up services for children and families.
If they are in a field placement they may be involved with the observation, but they will have to sign a confidentiality statement (like they do now).
People can learn from our pilot project experience, not sure what a curriculum model would look like or what to call it.
Might be willing to share our experiences with others, not sure how.

Only problem with involving students is confidentiality, which can be overcome, the student could sign a statement if need be.
They could help the child abuse officer. It is important to help folks learn to understand the process. There maybe a portion of the medical exam they might be able to do.
They could observe the interview from behind the one-way mirror, could observe in the courtroom, could see how the investigation process works, this happens all the time and would not be a problem.
They could identify the process used in developing the MDT.
They can learn what it takes to work together to appreciate the work involved in successfully getting through the investigation and prosecution process.
Teach the students how to listen or they will lose something.

I. Vision
Forensic Interviewer
Montgomery County	Pulaski County
Need a trained individual to interview children, a good consistent interviewer. The CAC offers a forensic interviewer who knows the appropriate questions to ask in the best order. Other people can be trained to be back-ups for the interviewer, maybe people who work in the agencies now? It will depend on who the best interviewers are, and we will be able to tell that when we see people interview.	We want a well-trained interviewer to do the majority of the interviews, so there will be limited problems in court.
Facility
Montgomery County	Pulaski County
To be located in a stand alone facility off campus within five years CAC site will have a one-way mirror where the investigative team can observe and hear the interviews while they are taking place. The observers will be able to feed questions to the interviewer. The interviews will be videotaped and can be viewed by the defense attorney prior to court, which may help with prosecution, i.e. plea bargains, etc. The videotapes can also be used to confront the suspect, which can be helpful in eliciting confessions. Provide services to families, follow-up on the children’s families service needs after the investigation is completed and DSS closes the case. Plan to provide medical exams on site Anyone in the NRV that wants to use the CAC facility can. Who will transport the child(ren) to the facility? The parents or the police, if DSS does not have custody?	CAC will minimize the # of interviews and length of the process, having best practice and a facility will have a minimum negative impact on the child and maximize impact on the service delivery. It offers an opportunity to enhance each MDTs work. Need to determine the best way for the investigative team to communicate their questions to the interviewer without disrespecting the child or interrupting the interviewer. Who will do the medical exams? Will the CAC be able to perform both chronic and acute (incident happened within the last 72 hours) exams? Is the clinic set up for a medical ER? And if they don’t want to use the CAC they don’t have to. Jurisdictions outside the NRV can use the CAC if it will help a child.
Training
Montgomery County	Pulaski County
Specialized training should be available to everyone in the NRV whether they use the CAC or not.	Include the public school teachers, counselors, and administrators (and those studying to become), and the NRV police academy trainees in relevant training offered by the CAC. Need to make a decision-making tree in the protocol to help us (police officers and CPS workers) know when a case is considered a medical emergency. Once it is developed share it with the police officers that get calls about these cases so they know who to call and what to do.
II. Structure
Regional Model
Montgomery County	Pulaski County
Don’t need to staff cases from all jurisdictions together.	We need to develop a regional model where each of the five protocols for the five jurisdictions are acceptable, don’t force one protocol or procedure to fit all five jurisdictions.
Current MDT Structure
Montgomery County	Pulaski County
We are a cohesive unit. We meet consistently every other month to discuss cases. Because of these meetings we know what is going on with each case. Our roles are interdependent, a team of a social worker and a police officer interview both the victim and suspect. When we work together we don’t miss important information. We are able to bring together resources from surrounding agencies for feedback and support for the family. Communication is very good between the sheriff’s department and other agencies.	All the players in child abuse cases in the county are here; if we didn’t have the meetings we all wouldn’t know about the cases. (The other members) give suggestions where to go, if hit a snag, help share points that others didn’t know about. (The meetings help with) case preparation for court. Counselors can find out how things are going with court and help prepare the child and family for court and deal with issues around court. We work together and do our jobs better. (The MDT meeting) offers a chance to vent. Forming the team was the biggest thing that made us a team. Police can do the criminal work, can deal with the suspect, and be the bad guy. DSS can protect the child. The work is more streamlined and more efficient, this is the only time we get together, we can talk and communicate better.
III. Student integration and curriculum model development
Montgomery County	Pulaski County
How to involve students is up for discussion; don’t want students doing the forensic interviews with the children. Not appropriate for a class to observe the interview for reasons of confidentiality. Possibly students could be involved in the follow-up services for children and families. If they are in a field placement they may be involved with the observation, but they will have to sign a confidentiality statement (like they do now). People can learn from our pilot project experience, not sure what a curriculum model would look like or what to call it. Might be willing to share our experiences with others, not sure how.	Only problem with involving students is confidentiality, which can be overcome, the student could sign a statement if need be. They could help the child abuse officer. It is important to help folks learn to understand the process. There maybe a portion of the medical exam they might be able to do. They could observe the interview from behind the one-way mirror, could observe in the courtroom, could see how the investigation process works, this happens all the time and would not be a problem. They could identify the process used in developing the MDT. They can learn what it takes to work together to appreciate the work involved in successfully getting through the investigation and prosecution process. Teach the students how to listen or they will lose something.