Investigations for protective services

Investigations for protective services

M5 Written Assignment: Interview Report

In approximately 3-5 pages:

• Summarize your findings from the case scenario you chose in your discussion from earlier in this module.
• Develop any follow up questions you will need to answer.
• Identify any additional sources of information that may pertain to the investigation.
• Outline your working hypothesis about the incident. Outline the next steps you will take.
• Analyze how principles of active listening, body language, touch, eye contact and “positive silence” would affect an in-person interview.
• What skills and attitudes are beneficial for you to have when conducting an interview? Discuss the importance of having a positive attitude, being flexible, being curious and imaginative, and using intuition when conducting an interview.

ORIGINAL SENERIO:

Your agency has received a call from the principal of XYZ Middle School. The school nurse acting in her role as mandatory reporter has talked to the principal about a probable case of physical abuse. A thirteen-year-old girl was seen walking down the school hall with what seemed to be a paint stain or perhaps blood on the buttocks of her pink sweat suit. The nurse, thinking that perhaps the girl had started her menstrual period or perhaps had sat in red paint, asked the girl to come into her office for a change of clothes. (The nurse keeps clothes in all sizes for just such situations.) The girl began to cry in pain as she was removing her clothes. The nurse asked to look at her buttocks and found that it appeared to have been beaten raw. Blood oozing from the wounds had caused the stain. The nurse gently questioned the girl who told the nurse, “Mom and Dad punished me because I got a “B” on my report card.”

The nurse immediately told the principal who immediately called your office. The girls parents are both well-respected professionals in the community. In fact, one of them is a teacher in the school district.

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

THIS WAS THE interview with the mother:

Your investigative team has determined that, due to the severity of the girl’s beating, she should be placed into protective custody, and that the parents should be interviewed immediately.

The girl’s mother will be the subject of this interview.

Mrs. Jones is 37-years-old. She has a master’s degree in education and teaches natural science at the high school level. She has two children, a son who was an honor student and is a freshman at a highly selective college. Her daughter (the girl possibly going into protective custody) is 13. She is an eighth grade student who works very hard in all of her subjects, but unlike her older brother, school work has always come hard for her. Mrs. Jones presents a very polished, professional demeanor.

HI, Mrs Jones. I just wanted to say sorry if i was being too invasive. I have a few questions for you. I would like a do-over if possible? I guess so.

Before we start is there anything i can get for you? No thank you.

It was reported to our cps office that your daughter was walking down the hall with blood stains on paints. The nurse asked to look at her buttocks and found that it appeared to have been beaten raw. According to the nurse, Blood was oozing from the wounds had caused the stain. The nurse gently questioned your daughter who supposedly told the nurse, “Mom and Dad punished me because I got a “B” on my report card.” Oh my!

DId you know your daughter had these injuries? No, I don’t. Is she alright? (You might want to address Beth’s status so the mom is more at ease. Is Beth in surgery? Is she at the hospital? The mom doesn’t know.)

I just was wondering if shed some light on why your daughter would tell the nurse this at school? I have no idea. Are you sure that is what she said?

DO you know how your daughter ended up wounds on her buttocks area? No.

how do you define discipline in your home? Well, we ground them sometimes and sometimes we take away privileges.

Does your husband agree? Yes. We talk about it before we set the punishment.

If you don’t mind me asking what does your husband do? He’s a partner at a law firm downtown. They do corporate law.

if your daughter did get a b what would her typical consequences be? If she was doing the best she could, why would there be consequences. All we ask is that they do their best in school.

How is your relationship with your daughter? Beth and I are very close.

How is your husband’s relationship with your daughter? He’s not as close as he used to be. Beth is becoming a young woman and I think my husband doesn’t know how to act around her.

How many people live in the house? Three. Beth, my husband and me.

Follow up questions might be:

Do you know who might have done this? I have no idea.

Have you noticed any changes in your daughter? You mean other than becoming a normal teenager?

Does she have friends? Yes. Quite a few actually.

Boyfriend? Oh my, I sure hope not.

Is your daughter being bullied at school to your knowledge? No. I think she would tell us if she was.

Mrs Jones thank you for your time if you can think of anything else here is my card. just to let you know I have to file a report on the alleged child abuse incident and I will let you know the conclusion of that report as soon as possible. Do you have any questions for me? Can I see Beth. Where is she?