Beyond Words: Interviewing Nonverbal Victims
This is a FREE webinar.
Date: Thursday, September 18, 2025
Time: 10:00 AM - 11:00 AM (PT)
Where: Online via Zoom
Register Here: https://cirinc.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_A_sJzbpjQ968A9gaCyy0Pg
This specialized webinar will provide members of the multidisciplinary team (MDT) with essential knowledge and practical strategies for effectively interviewing victims with nonverbal disabilities. The training emphasizes understanding communication barriers and adapting interview techniques to interview individuals with disabilities.
Join us to feel empowered to conduct inclusive and effective forensic interviews that center the needs and experiences of victims with disabilities.
About the Presenter:
Rhiannon Grotke has worked in law enforcement for twenty years, the last ten in Investigations specializing in child abuse, sexual assault, and homicide investigations. She has been a forensic interview specialist for ten years and for six years she worked as the Child Advocacy Center Coordinator in El Dorado County. She continues to work in Investigations and works as a trainer for CFIT and Science Based Interviewing (SBI) for law enforcement.
Agenda
Introduction
Brief overview of Case Laws
Common disabilities and communication disorders in the DSM
Pre-interviewing Checklist for MDT
FIND Adapted Interview Protocol Outline and Team Considerations
Resources and Q& A
Learning Objectives
- Identify at least three types of nonverbal communication disorders and describe how each may impact a forensic interview process.
- Apply the three principles of the FIND Adapted Interview Protocol.
- List a minimum of four pre-interview considerations that are essential when working with nonverbal victims.
- Evaluate four potential personal and systemic biases to ensure interviews are inclusive and trauma-informed.
- Analyze five different considerations to be able to define nonverbal.
We are committed to accessibility. If you need any accommodations to fully participate in an event please contact Goretti at goretti.alvarez@cirinc.org or (805) 876-0295. Requests must be received by 9/10/2025.
CECs:
Participants may apply for Continuing Education Credits after the event. Course meets qualifications for 1 hour of Continuing Education Credits for LMFTs, LCSWs, LPCCs, and/or LEPs as required by the California Board of Behavioral Sciences (Provider #128590). The Center for Innovation and Resources, Inc. (CIR) is approved by the California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists to sponsor continuing education for LMFTs, LCSWs, LPCCs, and/or LEPs. CIR maintains responsibility for this program/course and its content. CE Credits will be available after the event for a fee of $20. Certificates for CE Credits will be emailed to participants within two weeks following the event. If you would like to cancel your CE application or would like a refund, please contact goretti.alvarez@cirinc.org.
Funding:
Produced by the CATTA Center, a project of the Center for Innovation and Resources, Inc. with funding awarded by Victims of Crime Act (VOCA) Victim Assistance Formula Grant Program (Formula Grant Program) and Child Sexual Abuse Prevention state funds (Grant Subaward number CA24002801 ) through the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (CalOES), in collaboration with the Greater Bay Are Child Abuse Prevention Council Coalition.
