07/08/2026
There are heroes among us whose names most people will never know.
They don’t wear uniforms. They don’t seek recognition. They quietly walk into a room, sit across from a child whose world has been shattered, and become the safe place that child desperately needs.
Forensic Interviewers are the heartbeat of every Child Advocacy Center.
They are entrusted with hearing the unimaginable. With incredible patience, skill, and compassion, they ask the hardest questions in the gentlest ways, allowing children to tell their stories in their own words. Every interview has the power to change a child’s future—to begin healing, protect them from further harm, and help bring offenders to justice.
But there is a cost.
The stories don’t stay in the interview room. They linger in their minds and settle deep within their hearts. They carry the weight of children’s pain long after the workday ends because you cannot hear that level of trauma and simply walk away unchanged.
Not everyone can do this work.
It takes specialized training, extraordinary communication skills, unwavering integrity, endless patience, and a heart full of compassion. It requires the ability to remain calm in heartbreaking moments, to make a frightened child feel safe, and to be the steady presence they need when everything else has failed them.
This week is Forensic Interviewer Appreciation Week, and Russell County is incredibly blessed to have two of the very best.
Detra Rosser and Danielle Repicky have conducted thousands of forensic interviews throughout their careers. Behind every interview is a child who was believed, a family who found hope, and a community made safer because of their dedication. Their work often happens behind closed doors, but its impact echoes for a lifetime.
Detra and Danielle, thank you for carrying burdens that most people could never imagine. Thank you for choosing children, for giving them a voice when theirs has been stolen, and for standing in the gap on their darkest days. Your kindness, strength, professionalism, and unwavering commitment have changed countless lives.
Please join me in thanking these two remarkable women for the work they do every single day. They may never ask for the spotlight, but they deserve every bit of our gratitude and admiration.
