Sessions
Forensic Interviews for Children with Disabilities – Considerations and Accommodations
10:15 AM - 11:45 AM Tue
Holly Hess, LCSW, (formerly, Holly Bridenbaugh), received her MSW from Portland State University and has over 20 years’ experience working with children and families in the area of trauma and child maltreatment. She began working at CARES Northwest in 1998. She became a Child Interviewer in 2001 and has assessed over 1500 children for concerns of abuse and neglect. Over the years, Ms. Hess developed expertise in working with and interviewing children with disabilities. In 2008, she co-authored and coordinated development of the curriculum, Project Ability: Demystifying Disability in Child Abuse Interviewing. In 2017, Ms. Hess revised the Project Ability curriculum to create Project Ability: A Reference Guide for Interviewing Children with Disabilities. Ms. Hess has presented trainings on disabilities and on interviewing best practices to local and national audiences. In 2018, Ms. Hess joined the therapy team at CARES Northwest and began providing trauma specific treatment to children and families, again with special focus on working with children with disabilities.