May 2007Vol. 8, No. 4Children and Youth Involved in the Court Experience
The experience of testifying in court often creates additional distress for an abused or neglected child. The latest issue of the Judges' Page Newsletter focuses on steps that courts can take to make the court experience less threatening and stressful for children. Separate articles look at such measures as creating separate child-friendly waiting rooms, using mental health professionals to prepare children for the court experience, and even just explaining the court process to children in advance.
Additional articles address related issues, including confidentiality of proceedings, the impact of the confrontation clause on proceedings, and questioning child witnesses. Links to an array of online resources are also provided.
The Judges' Page Newsletter, a joint publication of the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges and the National CASA Association, is available online:
www.nationalcasa.org/JudgesPage/
Related Items
Two relatively recent issues of Children's Bureau Express (http://cbexpress.acf.hhs.gov) addressed the issue of helping children with their court experiences:
- "Involving Children in Dependency Court Hearings" (March 2007)
- "Explaining Court Processes to Children" (June 2006)