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The Tarrant County District Attorney’s Office established
one of the first child abuse prosecution units in Texas in 1990. Currently, this
unit is staffed by five attorneys, four investigators, and support personnel. |
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Cases involving child-victims require a great deal of sensitivity as well as
preparation. To achieve this, the attorneys in the Children's Unit work
hand-in-hand with area law enforcement groups specializing in these types of
crimes, and especially those individuals at the three local Alliance for
Children Centers. These centers
provide child-friendly environments in which child-victims are taken to one
central location for all investigative purposes, including police, Child Protective
Services, medical, and prosecutorial investigations. In addition to working
closely with local agencies, the Children’s Unit prosecutors share their
expertise with other attorneys in the office who face similar situations less
frequently. |
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The Children’s Unit investigators provide specialized expertise to police
agencies handling cases involving child-victims. The investigators assist in
trial preparation of child-victim cases, n2ot only in this section, but also in
any case involving children who have been harmed. The unit also includes an
investigator with expertise in the art of videotaping interviews with child
victims. |
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One innovative program initiated by
Joe Shannon Jr.'s office is the
"Kids In Court" program. Recognizing that a court appearance can be a
very traumatic experience for even a mature adult, the Children's Unit is all
too aware of how traumatic it can be for a young child victim. In addition to
the trauma of recounting the sometimes horrible details of what was done to
them, the child must do so in the alien atmosphere of a courtroom in the
presence of the defendant accused of having injured them. To help ease that
trauma, the "Kids In Court" program brings
children to the courthouse well in advance of their actual testimony and permits
them to become familiar and comfortable with the courtroom setting. The sessions
are conducted in small groups so that the children can see that they are not
"all alone" in what they are going through. When combined with the
extensive personal attention which the Children's Unit investigators and
attorneys give to each child, this program has done a great deal to alleviate
the trauma associated with the testimony of a child victim. |
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Additionally, the Children’s Unit has several
attorneys who handle civil suits in child cases in which parental rights are
terminated, suits in which children are placed for adoption, and other suits
that affect the custody of children. These attorneys work out of the main office
of the Texas Department of Protective and Regulatory Services. By placing these
attorneys on site with the Texas Department of Protective and Regulatory
Services, the Children’s Unit’s civil attorneys have been able to foster a
productive working relationship between Mr. Shannon's office and the
Texas Department of Protective and Regulatory Services, which provides child
victims with a more supportive approach to their traumatic cases. |
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The Crimes Against Children Unit is dedicated to providing
specialized legal assistance and counseling to children who are victims of
criminal conduct and in civil disputes so that the rights and interests of the
children are always protected. |
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