Building trust. Gathering truth.
RADAR is a research-based, step-by-step forensic interviewing model that prepares professionals to confidently and effectively interview children and adolescents. Rooted in science and built for real-world practice, RADAR turns best practices into clear, teachable methods that empower both new and experienced interviewers.
WHY RADAR?
RADAR was designed to raise the standard, creating interviews that are fair, thorough, and truly centered on the needs of children.
For decades, child forensic interviewing has leaned too heavily toward protecting adults from false allegations, often at the expense of children who struggle to disclose abuse. RADAR was created to restore balance.
Built in response to long-standing “specificity bias” in the field, RADAR recognizes that disclosure is often a slow, complex, and emotionally difficult process, one that cannot always be captured in a single, time-limited interview.
RADAR challenges traditional limitations by offering a more balanced, child-centered approach that prioritizes both accuracy and protection. It acknowledges the real impact of perpetrator influence, the barriers children face when disclosing, and the need for flexible, evidence-based interviewing methods that support truthful, reliable reports.
Forensic Balance as Genuine Best Practice
Radar was developed to operationalize and promote forensic balance in child forensic interviews and to provide an example of genuine best practice. Development was guided by the conviction that forensic balance and true best practice require the integration of both the science and the art of forensic interviewing. The best of interview science, represented by the NICHD-revised interview protocol, includes an emphasis on the use of initial narrative practice and research-based narrative questioning strategies to elicit a comprehensive and detailed account of the child's experiences while minimizing interviewer error. The best of interview art involves employing child sensitive strategies to facilitate engagement and rapport among reluctant and reticent children as well as interview methodology to address motivational and psychological obstacles to disclosure among abused children.
Pre-interview and mid-interview assessments of psychological barriers to disclosure
Design accommodation for age/developmental level (e.g. separate RADAR Jr protocol for ages 3 1/2 to 5 years; a developmentally-sensitive introduction to “The Promise” for children 5 and older)
Rapport strategies distilled from expert interviewers to promote a sense of trust and safety and to facilitate engagement in the interview process
Non-leading and minimally suggestive abuse screening tools to provide multiple opportunities for disclosure
Flexibility to conduct follow-up sessions in response to child and case exigencies.
For ages 5 through adolescence
For ages 3 1⁄2 to 5 1⁄2
First responder interview.
RADAR FI Models also offers faculty mentoring services that includes peer review and individualized consultation.
Our Team
Our team brings together more than 80 years of combined experience in child forensic interviewing, clinical practice, law enforcement, and trauma-focused evaluation. The RADAR faculty includes leading experts who have developed, refined, and taught this model across clinical, investigative, and military settings. Together, they ensure that every trainee learns from professionals who have spent decades working directly with children, families, and multidisciplinary teams.
Mark D. Everson
Developer
Mark D. Everson, PhD is Professor, Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He directs the UNC Program on Childhood Trauma and Maltreatment. His specialty is forensic evaluation in cases of suspected child maltreatment.
Lt. Chris Ragsdale
Developer
Lt. Chris Ragsdale, USN was one of the original authors and trainers of the RADAR model along with Dr. Everson. Lt. Ragsdale currently serves in the Navy.
Scott Snider
Developer
Scott Snider, LCSW is the Clinical Coordinator of the Duke Child Abuse and Neglect Medical Evaluation Clinic. He has conducted diagnostic interviews as part of children’s medical evaluations for suspected abuse for over 19 years.
Scott Rodriguez
Instructor
Scott Rodriguez is a retired sworn Law Enforcement at the Dare County Sheriff’s Office. Scott worked as a criminal investigator and conducted child forensic interviews. He continues to work as child interviewer and trainer for the RADAR models.
VOICES FROM THE FIELD
"I am personally a survivor of sexual assault. In learning the RADAR Model, I wish that my counselor had spent the time in 'engagement and rapport building' that the RADAR Model teaches. As an adult, it was terrifying to speak about my trauma even with an adult I knew well, and I can't imagine how much easier it would have been for me at 21 years old to speak about my trauma if my counselor had spent extra time in engagement and rapport building like RADAR trains you to do."
RADAR Interviewer
"RADAR is a fantastic resource for new and experienced interviewers alike. As a new interviewer, I felt fully prepared for any FI because our trainers challenged and supported us throughout RADAR training. The rest of my team and I now refer back to the RADAR book frequently when preparing for interviews and peer reviews. The versatile protocol gives new interviewers the necessary foundation for conducting basic interviews, and gives experienced interviewers the ability to adapt it to complex FIs"
CAC Interviewer
"Patrol officers need this training. Please laminate the FirstCall model. It deserves that much respect!"
First Call User
RADAR was my preferred protocol throughout my two years as an interviewer. Specifically, I liked the structure. I felt more confident as a new interviewer using RADAR than I think I would have been in the other two models.
CAC State Director
Building trust. Gathering truth.
Chapel Hill, NC USA
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