AN ASSESSMENT OF THE EDUCATION AND TRAINING OF VICTIM WITNESS ADVOCATES TO WORK WITH ABUSED CHILDREN IN NORTH CAROLINA : AN INVESTIGATION OF THE POSSIBLE ROLE FOR CHILD LIFE IN COURTROOMS

The current study investigates education and training, duties and perceived abilities to provide support to abused children of victim witness advocates (VWA) in North Carolina. Eighty-nine VWAs participated in online survey specifically developed for this study. In addition to demographic information participants reported on educational background and special training related to child development in order to work with abused children in NC court system. While findings of the study discovered inconsistency in requirements in child development training of VWAs, association with duties, role and training of child life specialist are discussed. More research is needed to support the need for CCLS in the courtroom setting. Â