Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
Serving Gogebic, Iron and Ontonagon Counties
PARTICIPANTS in a Sept. 4 training on how to interview children gather outside of the Ironwood Public Safety Department. Representatives from the Child Abuse Training Unit at the Prosecuting Attorneys Association of Michigan, as well as from LMTI Training Company and the Three Rivers Police Department, directed the training. Persons receiving training included members of the IPSD, the Michigan State Police and sheriff's departments from Gogebic and Ontonagon counties. From left, row one, are Deputy Mackenzie Prey, GCSD; Julie Knop, director of the PAAM Child Abuse Training Unit; Megan Aukerman, LMTI; and Deputy Jamie Moll, GCSD. Row two: Trooper James Norden, MSP; Lt. Matt Sterbenz, IPSD; Officer David Magnuson, IPSD; Deputy Lucis Bucknell and Deputy Aaron White, both of GCSD. Row three: Deputy Matt Ferrard, OCSD; Officer Jason Roberts, IPSD; Deputy Ryan Zawodny GCSD; Sam Smallcombe, chief deputy at Three Rivers Police Department; Deputy Keegan Bolen GCSD; Officer P.J. Rickard, IPSD; Sgt. Brandon Lyons, GCSD; and Officer Colin Clausen, IPSD.
IRONWOOD - The Ironwood Public Safety Department hosted a Sept. 4 training session for local law enforcement agencies on the forensic interviewing of children.
Leading the training were Julie Knop, the director of the Child Abuse Training Unit at the Prosecuting Attorneys Association of Michigan; Megan Aukerman of the LMTI Training Company; and Sam Smallcombe, chief deputy of the Three Rivers Police Department.
"All three of them were terrific to work with," said Lt. Matthew Sterbenz of the IPSD.
Sterbenz added that officers were grateful to attend and made several positive remarks about the instructors' knowledge and how valuable the training will be.
"Education is not only the key to success, but it also gives you the knowledge to make a difference," said Sterbenz.
According to him, Michigan is the only state in the nation that has a single interviewing protocol mandated for use by child abuse investigators. Agencies in other states have various requirements, depending on the topic.
Michigan's Forensic Interviewing of Children protocol is designed for child abuse investigators, including law enforcement and child protective service workers. All investigators that are charged with interviewing children of suspected abuse and neglect are required by Michigan law to complete this training.
The only recognized trainer of this protocol is PAAM's Child Abuse Training Services Unit.
The interviewing protocol provides tools for investigators to use while speaking with children.
It also acknowledges the importance of understanding child development and linguistic ability in relation to obtaining the best possible information during an interview with a child.
According to Sterbenz, participants learn how to interview in a non-suggestive, non-leading manner while utilizing open-ended prompts.
"The Child Abuse Training Services (CATS) program's mission is to promote multidisciplinary expertise in the prevention of and response to child abuse by providing professionals with up-to-date information about sexual or physical abuse, child neglect, and forensic interviewing techniques," states the PAMM website, which adds that internet crimes against children also are addressed.
The IPSD and PAAM hope to continue bringing training to this area.
At times, funding can be an issue for smaller agencies, but Sterbenz said that members of local agencies have learned that they can accomplish much more by working together.
In fact, Sterbenz worked with Knop to set up the training for local agencies. He told Knop how it is challenging for local agencies to send individuals to training due to staff shortages. In addition, he explained that this region's rural locale typically adds two extra travel days for staff who travel to the larger training facilities.
As a result, Knop secured funding to cover almost all of the costs associated with the training.
The IPSD would like to thank Gogebic County Chief Assistant Prosecutor Tracie Wittla and the Gogebic County Victim Rights group for their assistance with some additional training funds.
Training participants were from Gogebic and Ontonagon County law enforcement offices.
