Rebecca Nathanson, Ph.D. has
one goal in mind: make sure children can tell their story in court.
“The reality is, many people
don’t think kids belong in court, but it’s always been important to me for kids
to be able to tell their story in court,” said the James E. Rogers Professor of
Education and Law.
The
Kids’ Court School, established in 2002 by Nathanson, was created to help educate children about the
courtroom process, reduce their anxiety before legal proceedings, and help
facilitate their ability to tell their story in court.
The
program has garnered national recognition as a model for children’s courtroom
education. In 2012, it won Harvard University’s Bright Ideas award, a
recognition given to programs that can be models for improving government at
different levels.
“My career has focused on
examining the capabilities and limitations of children, with a specific
interest in kids with disabilities,” said Professor Nathanson. “I began this as
a Research Fellow at UCLA Medical School, and over the years I’ve developed
various strategies to enhance the completeness and accuracy of children’s
reports. It is from this work that the
Kids’ Court School evolved, a program I take great pride in since it has the
potential of helping so many children and youth.”
The program’s curriculum is
not only evidence-based but standardized, so that parties on all sides of a
case know what participants are being taught.
Research conducted in June
by Nathanson shows that the Kids’ Court School does indeed reduce children’s
level of stress.
“This research is exciting
because it’s helping instill more confidence in kids. It could potentially
affect the way people look at kids in the legal system,” said Nathanson.
Since December, Nathanson
has turned her attention to research exploring attorneys’ and guardians’
perceptions of Kids’ Court School.
“We think parents who are
hesitant to have their kids testify would be more comfortable if they perceived
their kids’ anxiety as lessened,” said Nathanson. “The second implication of
our research is if attorneys perceive their clients’ anxiety as less, it may
increase their confidence in their clients’ ability to testify in court. Many attorneys
are hesitant about putting kids on the stand, but it’s important that they do.”
Kids’ Court School was
developed originally for child witnesses, but the curriculum more recently has
been expanded to help juvenile delinquents. Two months ago, Nathanson and her
team began collecting data on the efficacy of this component of the Kids’ Court
School.
“The juvenile system has
been sending to us juveniles who are about to stand trial. Because of the need
to remediate juvenile competency in this community and country, we began
developing an additional curriculum for kids involved in delinquency
proceedings,” Nathanson said.
Soon, she will undertake
research to determine attorneys’ and judges’ perceptions of the credibility of
children who go through the Kids’ Court School. In the near future, she will start
another study to determine if juveniles have the ability to stand trial, or if
developmental issues – problem-solving or decision-making skills – preclude
that.
“We want to explore if the
development of such processes, which typically develop in later adolescence,
can be accelerated through the Kids’ Court School,” Nathanson said.
Since opening in 2002, more
than 740 children have participated in the Kids’ Court School.
“It gives me great pride that
many of these kids who wouldn’t have had a voice, did,” Nathanson said.
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