Background: This evaluation examined the use of the Facilitated Attuned Interaction (FAN) approach to reflective practice among child welfare and early childhood professionals working with vulnerable children and families. Objective: The aims of the current evaluation were to test (a) the role of vicarious trauma in predicting professional burnout, (b) the effect of reflective practice quality in decreasing professional burnout, and (c) the ability of reflective practice quality to lessen the relationship between vicarious trauma and professional burnout. Participants and Setting: The sample included sixty-three professionals across diverse professions including child welfare social workers, early childhood educators, and child welfare attorneys. Methods: Child welfare and early childhood professionals participating in reflective practice with consultants trained in the FAN approach to reflective practice completed surveys measuring their vicarious trauma, burnout, and the quality of reflective practice pre-intervention as well as nine months post-intervention. Results: Results indicated that pre-intervention vicarious trauma directly and significantly increased child welfare and early childhood professionals' post-intervention reports of professional burnout, β = 0.42, [95% CI: 0.08, 0.76]. Post-intervention reflective practice quality did not directly nor significantly reduce professionals' post-intervention reports of professional burnout, β = −0.06, [95% CI: −0.46, 0.36]; however, the relationship between pre-intervention vicarious trauma and post-intervention burnout was significantly diminished by positive perceptions of reflective practice quality, β = −0.36, [95% CI: −0.69, −0.02]. Conclusion: Vicarious trauma was associated with increased rates of professional burnout among child welf essionals. The current evaluation indicates the potential benefit of receiving high quality reflective practice with the FAN approach.

Objective: We surveyed a national sample of child forensic interviewers to learn the types of information they wanted to have before interviewing children, their attitudes and beliefs about forensic interviews, the characteristics of their interviews, and their professional experiences. Hypotheses: We predicted (1) interviewers would want many different types of information before interviewing children, but specifically details about the child, alleged abuse, and disclosure, and that interviewers would find this information helpful and accessible; (2) interviewers would consider their own interviews to be neutral and nonleading and to yield accurate and complete information from children; interviewers’ concern about false reports would be related to (3) the amount of preinterview information they wanted and (4) their years of experience and amount of training. Method: Forensic interviewers (N = 781) from all 50 states and the District of Columbia completed all (n = 754) or part (n = 27) of a questionnaire that consisted of open- and closed-ended questions. Results: (1) Interviewers wanted many different types of information before interviewing children, but most often information about the child, alleged abuse, and disclosure. They thought these types of information were the most helpful and very frequently had access to that information before interviewing. (2) Interviewers thought their interviews were fairly neutral, slightly leading, mostly accurate, and fairly complete. Interviewers who were more concerned about false denials (3) wanted more preinterview information than interviewers who were more concerned about false allegations and (4) had fewer years of experience. Conclusions: Our survey results underscore the need for future research examining the effects of preinterview information on forensic interviews and children’s reports. They provide a current snapshot of forensic interviewing and a national benchmark to which local child advocacy centers can compare their practices. They highlight the inherent difficulty courts face when determining the admissibility of a child forensic interview based on its primary purpose.

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