Oneida County District Attorney's Office Receives $9,858 Grant From Department of Justice

Grant Money to Help Fund a Mobile Video Recording Unit for Use in Child Forensic Interviews

RHINELANDER - The Wisconsin Department of Justice, Office of Crime Victim Services has awarded the Oneida County District Attorney's Office a $9,858.81 grant to be used to purchase a mobile video recording unit for use in child forensic interviews. The award is made possible through a grant from the Children's Justice Act (CJA) program.

The Wisconsin Children's Justice Act grant program is committed to improving the investigation and prosecution of child abuse and neglect. The program encourages county childcare professionals to work together to streamline the investigative process so that children who are victims of a crime are not further traumatized. Often, this is done by bringing together a multidisciplinary team of law enforcement and social service agencies who work together from the start of an investigation. 

CJA grant funds can also be used to train law enforcement officers and social workers on how to conduct forensic interviews of children. Forensic interviews provide a number of advantages. They allow for the child to be interviewed once rather than repeatedly by numerous agencies. The interviews are taped and can be used in preliminary court proceedings, rather than having to have the child testify in a courtroom on multiple occasions. 

"Working together streamlines the investigative process and reduces secondary trauma to child victims," said Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen. "I am pleased the Wisconsin Department of Justice can support these important programs that protect child victims." 

Oneida County's audio/visual mobile child interview system will be one of the first of its kind in the state. This unit will provide a unique and necessary response in a rural county with a large land area and a small population.