## Interviewing Children “The Complete Complaint Investigator” Texas Department

of Human Resources August

1984 

# 44

The licensing representative

must be familiar with

a number of considerations

in interviewing

children. For example, the following must specifically

be taken into account: the child’s dependency

on adults around him, his level of maturity, and the trauma he has ex perienced

as a result of abuse or neglect. Many of the techniques that you use to interview adults will be applicable

to the child, but these techniques

will have to be modified and adapted. Effectively interviewing

children will depend on the degree of your flexibility, sensitivity,

and knowledge

of child growth and development.

For all these reasons, interviewing

children

is both

a challenging

task and
a delicate responsibility. Children’s perceptions

differ from those of adults. They often mix fantasy with reality. Younger children have

a limited attention span. Childrert’s time orientation

is limited in terms of the meaning of the length of time or past and future. Their vocabulary

is lim ited, and they are less able to deal with abstract terms. To avoid creating anxiety, confusion, and defensiveness and to make sure that you are communicating effectively, “Why” questions

should be avoided. Children often put up a facade of pseudo-maturity

to hide their feelings arid impress you that there
is nothing wrong. They may also give answers that they feelthe interviewer will approve. Such children have an allegiance

to their caregiver despite the fact that they have been abused or neglected
by him. If the licensing repre 

### sentative starts blaming the caregiver,

the child may withdraw
or become defensive. You should tell the child that you understand the child’s worries or nervousness.

Be honest. Be tolerant. Speak plainly to the child. The tempo of the interview should be slower. Questions should be less rapid or abrupt. You should develop

a strategy for interviewing

children. De pending on the circumstances, you will have to decide whether the child will be interviewed

at the facility, the licensing office,
in the hospital,

in the caregiver’s absence,

in the presence of parents or trusted adults,
at the time of the incident, or some lime after the incident. Upon first meeting the child, be prepared
to assess his condition by observing

non-verbal expressions, physical symptoms,

emo tional symptoms,

and behavioral symptoms.

Some children may be fearful, lack affect, or appear detached, while other children may be aggressive

or withdrawn. Being aware of these symptoms

will help you decide how to approach

a particular

child to facilitate communication. You should be prepared

to establish rapport with the child, just as you would with an adult. A]though you may assume that it would be easier to relate to children because they have been victims of abuse or neglect,

it may, in fact, be more difficult. The following guidelines increase the chances of establishing rapport: • Explain who you are and why you are there. You should tell them that you are the person responsible for checking their school orday care center to seehow things are going, the reason why youneed to see them, and that youarethere for the protection
of chil dren. Do not forget that these children’s trust in adults mayhave been shaken because of what they have gone through, and the de velopment
of a working relationship with them maybe aslow process. • Impress onthe child your expertise and the fact that youhave been seeing other kids. You should be prepared for all kinds of resistance from

achild who has been abused or neglected. Such resistance maybe mani fested in the form of stubbornness, withdrawal,

oreven aggression. In addition, the child mayalso exaggerate the situation. Criticism will alienate the child and it will block communication. You should raise clear questions and carefully select words which arewithin the child’s vocabulary rangein order to avoid misunder standings. You should avoid any indication
of becoming

a parent. surrogate
or attacking the parent or caregiver because this maycreate resistance. Frequently, interviewers attempt to become

a parent surrogate
to anabused child, thinking that this will impart

a feeling of security
to the child. When the child rejects them, the interviewer becomes angry and critical. Remember that the child maynot be ready to disassociate himself from parents or caregivers,
nomatter how much he mayhave been abused. Do not become intimate with the child. The child mayresent the attempt
if it occurs through childish talk, tweaking cheeks, or pull ing earlobes. However, the interviewer should adapt tothe child’s world. (for example sit in asmall chair). The child should be told what he is allowed
to do rather than what he cannot do. For example,
in aninterview with the child in the office,

it is better to say, “Johnny, youcan play with this box and these toys while we talk,” instead of “Johnny, while wetalk youarenot supposed’to climb onthe windows or’ play with ray papers.” Saying this maycausethe child to attempt
todo just the opposite. Then, when you say, no, youarefaced with the need to control the child. Avoid promises that cannot be kept. On the other hand, if the interview

is lengthy ordifficult for the child, be pre pared to offer the child something for, his participation. Some times, just offering the child information canbe enough to elicit his participation

in ‘the, interview. You may experience difficulties

in discussing the incident with the child because of either yourownorthe child’s anxiety. The child may panic orbecome uneasy,The child mayhave fantasies of dying. The child mayhave fears of rejection by friends orrelatives. The child mayhave fears of being punished by God, fears that the abuser will kill him, orfears that the abuser will commit suicide. The child mayfear being removed from the facility and placed in another facility. The child may actually find comfort
in the abuse asameansof getting attention. Keep the following considerations

in mind as you begin the inter view:

.

. •Review the report with the child.• Appear business-like and vet sensitive. Be gentle, reassuring, and supportive, but do not treat the child as an infant. • Recognize the difficulty
of dealing with the subject. • Start with the specifics and recognize that unless you understand the subject matter thoroughly, you will not be able to help. Gather whatever evidence you can and ask for the specifics
of who, what, when, where, and how. Generally,

it is not necessary

to obtain parental permission prior to interviewing

children
at the facility however, when the subject matter
is sensitive, such as sexual abuse,

it is wise to obtain the par ent’s permission first or, at least, clear the interview through the regional attorney.

It may also be helpful to discuss the interview with the child’s parents
to find out what words the child uses for various body parts, such as the genitalia, and what names the child uses in referring
to various individuals. When interviewing

children
at the facility, your approach should be casual, making

it appear that you are just chatting with the chil dren.- Whenever possible, the children should be interviewed individu ally since children
in groups are highly susceptible

to being influ enced by one another. When

it is not possible
to interview them in dividually, the interviews should be conducted

in small groups, and several groups should be interviewed

to obtain corroboration. Such interviews can provide you with much valuable information about discipline, nutrition, and other topics that you would be unlikely
to observe. While
it is not inappropriate

to ask adults leading questions

in complaint interviews, such questions can unduly influence children and should be avoided. Interviews with children provide you with hearsay evidence only. Normally, the evidence would be admissible only if the child were available

to testify and if the child
is old enough to know the differ ence between the truth and
a lie. However, due to the special cir cumstances surrounding having

a child testify,

it is often possible
to get your testimony admitted regarding what the child told you. In addition, even if the children are too young to give what would nor mally be considered competent testimony, that testimony may be admitted

if a sufficient number of children independently

corrobo rate the testimony. Exhibit

3 furnishes additional information

on interviewing children. 

# \Vritten

Statements 4 6
Written statements are, in effect,

a written interview with the col lateral contact or witness, but they are not
a substitute for an oral