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12 T.M. Cooley J. Prac. & Clinical L. 193 (2009-2010)
The Cornerhouse Forensic Interview Protocol: RATAC

handle is hein.journals/tmcjpcl12 and id is 195 raw text is: THE CORNERHOUSE FORENSIC INTERVIEW PROTOCOL: RATAC' Jennifer Anderson, Julie Ellefson, Jodi Lashley, Anne Lukas Miller, Sara Olinger, Amy Russell, Julie Stauffer, and Judy Weigman I. INTRODUCTION Over three-quarters of a million children were determined to be victims of child abuse or neglect in the United States in 2007:1 nearly sixty percent were child victims of neglect, approximately eleven per- cent were victims of physical abuse, and over seven percent were child victims of sexual abuse.2 Not all of these confirmed cases of child abuse find their way into court; however, a recent study estab- lished child sexual abusers accounted for as many as six percent of all felony convictions, and child sexual abusers receive proportionately harsher sentences than other offenders convicted of violent felony of- fenses.3 It is critical, therefore, to maintain a careful balance between ensuring the safety of alleged child victims and protecting the rights of alleged offenders of child abuse during the investigative process. The costs of allowing an abused child to fall through the cracks are equal to the costs of wrongfully convicting an innocent person. Pro- fessionals charged with investigating child abuse allegations, particu- larly child sexual abuse or serious physical abuse allegations, must be . This article was written by the forensic interviewers at CornerHouse, a non-profit child abuse evaluation and training center in Minneapolis, MN. Authors wish to acknowledge the 500 children who come to CornerHouse each year, who bravely tell us what they know about their experiences and who teach us so much each and every time we are honored to speak with one of them. ' U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, ADMINISTRATION ON CHILDREN, YOUTH AND FAMLIES. CHILD MALTREATMENT 2007 xii (Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, 2009). 2 Id. at 25. DEAN CHAMPION, CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE CASES: EXTRALEGAL FACTORS IN SENTENCING HEARINGS IN THREE SOUTHERN STATES (Nov. 01, 2006) (Paper pre- sented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Criminology (ASC), Los Angeles Convention Center, Los Angeles, CA).

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