Supervision of Child Forensic Interviewers

As many child advocacy centers (CAC) employ child forensic interview specialists or choose to develop a small group of investigator interviewers, there is a growing need for a set plan for building skills and increasing the competency and resilience of their forensic interviewers. Supervision, a long-standing tradition in medicine and mental health, is an established relationship between a senior practitioner and a more junior partner to provide feedback, guidance, support, and ongoing education toward developing a specialized skill.

An experienced forensic interviewer may have much to offer a newly developing forensic interviewer but may need more education or direction to increase their knowledge about supervision or develop skills and abilities to provide supervision in a structured and intentional way.

Principles of supervision will be presented and discussed, along with core values and practices around effective supervision. A model for assessing current forensic interviewers’ skill level and developmental needs will be introduced. In addition, suggestions for continual growth and support to promote resiliency and longevity, and excellence in interviewing will be discussed.