The Police Department and state's attorney's office will announce Monday that they are partnering with trained interviewers at the Baltimore Child Abuse Center to question children who have witnessed violence or other crimes. The idea is both to help children deal with the trauma and to solve the crimes.

"Children witnesses oftentimes suffer first-hand violence," said Baltimore State's Attorney Marilyn J. Mosby. "The post-traumatic stress, the depression, attachment issues ... If we don't try to channel this in a productive way, it can be detrimental."

But the children are also potentially valuable witnesses in a city where 130 people have been killed this year and violent crime is surging, officials say.
They're greeted in the waiting room by colorful murals, toys, books and child-sized furniture. Then they're escorted to rooms where specialists guide them through a forensic interview to capture details of their experience.

"This is a place that doesn't look like a hospital or government office or police station, but is meant to be bright and cheery," said Adam Rosenberg, the center's longtime director. He points out wooden butterflies hanging from the ceiling that were decorated by children. Every day, he says, he hears them singing "Let It Go" from Disney's "Frozen."
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