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The Center for Court Innovation’s Child Witness Materials Project is a collaborative effort between the Center for Court Innovation, Center for Urban Pedagogy, and Alternate History Comics and is supported by cooperative agreements #2016-VF-GX-K011 and #2018-V3-GX-K069, awarded by the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Office for Victims of Crime. The opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in these...
Who’s That? In Family or Dependency Court—a complementary piece to It’s Not Just You—is a brief guide that explains the different roles of people that a teenager may interact with or hear about throughout their child welfare case and in family or dependency court. It includes practical tips for preparing for court and information on some...
It’s Not Just You tells the story of two youth—Nishan and his family, when caseworkers visit their home; and Lila, when she is placed at her grandmother’s home by caseworkers after an incident.
To illustrate the common occurrences in child welfare cases, both stories showcase Nishan and Lila interacting with caseworkers, advocates, and counselors. Lila’s story also...
Use these materials with children and youth who may have involvement with the justice system as the victim of or witness to a crime. The materials teach children about how the justice system works, what their rights are, and how they can cope with the difficult feelings they might have during the process.
Character booklets about criminal court roles and tips for coping are available...
These materials were specifically designed to appeal to children ages 12–18.
The goal of these materials is to provide effective, trauma-informed, developmentally appropriate information and support to children in a way that they can more easily understand, so they can feel informed, supported, and empowered.
Learn more and view the guides below.
This guide, designed for practitioners...
Child Victims and Witnesses Support Materials includes materials for young children ages 2 to 6 years old, school-age children ages 7 to 12 years old, and youth ages 13 to 18 years old. However, you can use whichever set of materials seems most appropriate for each child, given their stage of development.
For each age group, there are materials about the...
Children are some of the most vulnerable members of our society and are widely held as needing greater care and protection. However, despite this, children are frequently victims of or witnesses to violence, abuse, and other crimes, including domestic violence, community violence, physical assault, sexual assault, commercial sexual exploitation, and child maltreatment.
Resulting from these high rates of exposure to violence, crime, and abuse...
These materials were specifically designed to appeal to children of different age groups (ages 2–6, ages 7–12, and ages 13–18). However, you can use whichever set of materials seems most appropriate, given the child’s stage of development.
For each age group, there are materials about the criminal justice system and the child welfare system.
The goal of these materials is to provide...
Use these materials with children and youth who may have involvement with family and dependency court as the victim of or witness to a crime. The materials teach children about how the child welfare system works, what their rights are, and how they can cope with the difficult feelings they might have during the process.
Character booklets about court roles...
I Am Isabella tells the story of what happens to a young girl named Isabella after a caseworker visits her home.
To illustrate common occurrences in child welfare cases, the story follows Isabella as she meets a caseworker, talks to a counselor at school, goes to court and meets her advocate, and builds a network of support...
I Am Still Isabella tells the story of what happens to Isabella after she is removed from her home and placed with another caregiver, her auntie.
To illustrate common occurrences in cases of child removal, the story follows Isabella as she adjusts to life in her new home, regularly meets with her caseworker and counselor and discusses...
