The District Attorney's Office in Macon is looking to collaborate with local artists on a special project.
The office is putting together a coloring book to help child victims understand the judicial process, and they want to feature local art.
District Attorney David Cooke says using a book like the one they're developing is a best practice among DA offices.
"Particularly with children, when you want to do a better job of getting at the truth so that you can get justice in court, you want to do anything you can that puts them at ease and reduces the trauma that comes along with coming into such a formal setting, or such an intimidating setting," Cooke said.
Cooke says the office has had books in the past, but wants to update theirs. They put out an open call on Facebook.
"We got a number of responses from professionals who would be good at this so, we'll be talking with them and asking them to submit proposals and from there, we'll produce the booklet," Cooke said.
Cooke says children coming into court are often victims of physical or sexual abuse, or witnesses to domestic abuse.
Manager of the Cresent House, Kemberlie Sanderson, understands firsthand the difficulties of getting a child to open up about these emotional traumas.
The Cresent House is a child advocacy center that works closely with the district attorney's office and the Division of Family and Children Services. They offer forensic interviews for child victims, forensic medical services, therapy services and victim advocacy.
Sanderson says each child that walks through their doors is different.
"Sometimes they're very overwhelmed and scared, nervous, and sometimes they're comfortable," Sanderson said. "I mean, you just don't know because children experience abuse differently, so there's no one way that a child feels when they first come in."
Sanderson says they have professionals and specialists trained to speak and interact with children. She says they've used similar books in the past to help children open up.
"From our standpoint on teaching children what touches are and a 'safe touch' or a 'not safe touch,' or things along those lines, we actually have a coloring book as well that we didn't develop but that we purchased, to help explain that to children, and so that their parents can then go over it with them after they leave the Cresent House," Sanderson said.
The assessments and interviews the Cresent House does are just the first step in the process. Sanderson says by the time they reach the court system, it's the end.
"For them to be able to understand the whole process from beginning to end and understand what a courtroom is going to look like, and those kind of things, I think it's wonderful to be able to do it on a child development level," Sanderson said.
Cooke says they're looking for any artists who are willing to help and successfully tell the story of what it's like to be in court. They're looking forward to finishing the book in a few months.
If you are an artist and are interested in helping out, email Amy Leigh Womack at awomack@maconbibb.us