Courts and forensic psychologists are more frequently working with interpreters as a result of the increasing linguistic diversity in the United States. This article reviews the published literature on how interpreter-mediated communication impacts the reliability and validity of forensic evaluation. Until there are sufficient numbers of multilingual forensic psychologists, the use of interpreters in forensic practice is unavoidable. Therefore, this article provides forensic psychologists with empirically-based recommendations to improve the reliability and validity of interpreter-mediated evaluations.

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The United States continues to grapple with longstanding policies and systems that have adversely impacted historically marginalized communities who identify (and are racialized) as non-White. These stem from a legacy of structural and systemic racism, and the long-term consequences of sanctioned colonization. This legacy rests upon a field of scholarly research that is similarly fraught with white supremacy. As a field, we must examine the process of producing and publishing the body of evidence that has codified harmful policies and practices. Although racial and ethnic disparities have been discussed for decades in the child welfare and health systems, systemic racism has received comparatively little attention in academic research and journals. In this commentary, the authors detail concrete steps over the coming years that will advance diversity, equity, inclusion and justice through American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children’s (APSACs) flagship journal, Child Maltreatment. The journal is committed to anti-racist publication processes, such that the journal pledges to develop procedures, processes, structures, and culture for scholarly research that promotes diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice in all forms.

The number of Americans receiving institutional psychiatric care has decreased by the hundreds of thousands since deinstitutionalization in the 1960s. However, according to the President's New Freedom Commission, the community mental health system's inability to care for those released has led to rising incarceration of the mentally ill (Human Rights Watch, 2003). This has increased psychologists' involvement with courts, jails, and prisons, which have surpassed the Veterans Administration system as the largest employers of psychologists. These changes have led psychologists into increased contact with the legal system-that is, into forensic psychology practice.

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