What to Expect
When clients and their families arrive at SEMO-NASV, they are greeted by caring, professional staff who help reassure them and answer preliminary questions. The waiting room at SEMO-NASV is furnished with games, toys and books appropriate for children and adolescents, as well as comfortable chairs and reading material for adults.
A written social narrative helps visitors prepare for a visit to SEMO-NASV. This support introduces a new space or experience before encountering the actual situation.
Our forensic support specialist will meet with the child client’s caregiver or adult client, help them fill out the necessary paperwork and talk to them about what will happen during the forensic interview. A medical provider will meet with the child client caregiver and/or adult client to describe what happens during the medical exam that is offered to all clients and obtain the necessary consents. An advocate will show the client the forensic interview room and meet with the adult client or non-offending caregiver after the interview to explain Missouri’s Crime Victim Compensation program and to offer support services and resources.
Child clients and those adults who choose to have a forensic interview meet with a professional who is specially trained. Interviews are conducted in a client-friendly, safe, supportive environment using open-ended, non-leading questions. Forensic interviews are digitally recorded. This reduces the need for the child or adult to be interviewed multiple times by many different professionals. Minimizing the number of interviews reduces additional trauma to the client and preserves their statement. In addition, members of the multi-disciplinary team (law enforcement, MCD investigators, SEMO-NASV staff) observe the interview in progress from another room.
After the interview, clients are brought to the exam room by a SEMO-NASV medical provider who is specially trained to assess child and adult survivors of violence. The exams at SEMO-NASV are non-invasive, healthcare evaluations and always voluntary.
The forensic interviewer, medical provider and advocate will talk to the adult client or child client’s caregiver after the interview and exam, with the investigative team, to discuss what will happen next and answer any questions they may have. The advocate will maintain contact with clients and families to provide ongoing support and information about the investigation process as well as follow-up.
