Program Prepares Kids To Testify In Court Kidscourt Eases Fears For Children Asked To Talk Of Sex Abuse
“What’s the most important thing you do in court?” asked Superior Court Judge Tari Eitzen.
Seven nervous and antsy Spokane children stared back at her, shrugging their shoulders.
“I know,” said a 5-year-old girl, waving her arm in the air. “I can tell the truth about what happened.”
On Saturday, the little girl and six other children, ages 4 to 12, learned what to expect when they tell the court about sexual abuse they’ve endured. As a witness, they’ll testify against a parent, relatives or friends in a courtroom full of strangers.
Most of their cases are ready for trial and KidsCourt helps prepare them to take the stand.
In the past year, 42 Spokane County children and their parents voluntarily participated in KidsCourt, a program run jointly by Deaconess Regional Center for Child Abuse and Neglect and the Spokane County prosecutor’s office. The program, which will celebrate its first anniversary in November, includes a TeenCourt for older victims. Funding comes from a $10,000 grant from the Bishop Foundation, a Seattle-based organization which supports children’s programs.
KidsCourt will meet three more times over the next eight months; TeenCourt will meet twice.
“Court’s an intimidating place for adults,” said Eitzen. “And for these little children, we probably have no comprehension of how scary it is for them.”
That’s why the program aims to prepare the children for every aspect of their trials - where the bailiff stands, what the court reporter does and how to ask the judge for a break. The children are not asked questions about what has happened to them; the program is meant to acquaint them with the courtroom.
“The more familiar they are with the process, the better witnesses they become, which helps the judge, the jury and them,” said program director Karen Winston.
Saturday, each child took turns wearing a miniature judge’s robe and everyone got the chance to sit in the jury box among overstuffed, life-sized juror dolls.
Perhaps the most helpful exercise was when prosecutor Cindi Port called each child to the witness stand and questioned them. She asked a 6-year-boy what he got for his first birthday.
“I don’t remember,” he said, with his head down.
“Good answer,” she said, bringing out a toothless grin on his face. “That’s exactly what you’re supposed to say if you don’t know the answer.”
In addition to helping the children, the program gives the children’s parents a rare opportunity to vent their frustrations about the justice system with prosecutors, a former detective and Eitzen.
“Parents are the biggest hurdle,” said D.A. Routt, a retired Spokane county sheriff’s detective. Routt investigated sex crimes for 11 years before leaving the force last year. Parents often are the first to lose faith in the system and to wonder if they’re doing the right thing by permitting their child to testify, he said.
At some point during the daylong program, all of the volunteers feel overwhelmed by what the children have been through. But they focus on how brave the kids are and how far they’ve already come.
“They begin to process the pain and betrayal much earlier,” said Winston. “And hopefully we’ll have healthier adults because of that. These kids are just so amazing and precious.”
, DataTimes