Mock courtroom in Van Nuys helps abuse victims prepare for court

Preparing for the courtroom experience isn't easy, especially for victims of abuse.

"If you try to navigate the system on your own it can be very confusing and overwhelming," said forensic nurse examiner Jennifer Dineen. "We're taking a traumatic event and just easing their way through it."

The Center for Assault Treatment Services (CATS) is helping victims through the process by recently opening a mock courtroom for victims at the Family Justice Center in Van Nuys.

"When they come in here we don't come in here to practice their case or practice court. We come to show them the process," said CATS Director Gina Daquilla. "They may come in and sit in the judge chair or sit in the witness stand. They can practice swearing in. We let them know this is what to expect."

Open for only six months, the mock courtroom provides children and adult victims the opportunity to prepare for the courtroom environment.

"Most of them haven't been to court. The purpose is for them to feel empowered coming into the courtroom," said child and family advocate Yaquelin Herrera.

The service is free to victims and is one of many offered through CATS. It gives victims an early chance to experience what stepping into the courtroom and testifying will be like.

"This has definitely brought that picture together for them. A lot of times when I talk to them afterwards they tell me how happy they are they came here first before going to the courtroom because it wasn't a surprise to them," said Herrera.

Organizers also tell us they hope to expand the program and start a court school where they'll bring groups of youths here to learn about the judicial system from start to finish. They hope to get that program up and running in future months.