Child Protection and Child Custody

Abstract

A child'S need for safety should trump any and all other considerations in family law. Child-service agencies cannot be expected to both promote reunification and child protection simultaneously. The author asserts that legislatures need to change the laws such that it is clear to the court that children come first and that safety is paramount. Although visitation between child and parent is considered to be a fundamental right, this right can and should be abrogated when initial evidence shows that such contact poses a risk of danger to the emotional or physical health and safety of the child. A new and specially trained court dealing only with issues of family violence and abuse may need to be considered.     

Rorschach Assessment in Child Custody Case

SUMMARY

This article describes the utility and limitations of the Rorschach Inkblot Test for addressing issues in child custody cases, with particular attention to identifying level of adjustment or psychological disturbance, personality characteristics that may foster or impede adequate parenting, and possible childhood experiences of trauma and sexual abuse. Data are reviewed that document the scientific respectability and widespread use of Rorschach assessment and attest the regularity with which Rorschach-based testimony is admitted into evidence in the courtroom. Also noted are ways in which Rorschach findings can lend incremental validity to forensic evaluations and circumvent efforts atmalingering or deception.     

Child Custody and Domestic Violence

Abstract

Child Custody & Domestic Violence(Jaffe, Lemon, & Poisson, 2002) tries unsuccessfully to address both professional and lay audiences. It is a work of advocacy focusing on the plight of battered women and their children, rather than an authoritative text on the assessment and management of cases involving domestic violence allegations in family courts.     

Countertransference Bias in the Child Custody Evaluator

ABSTRACT

Concerns about bias which may arise in the child custody evaluation process have recently attracted critical attention. The types of biases addressed are those that primarily stem from cognitive psychology, as well as social and cultural sources of bias. Rarely discussed, however, is bias which can stem from evaluator countertransference, which if unrecognized can potentially lead to biased and non-objective recommendations. While one must strive to be objective and impartial, child custody evaluators are frequently working with highly charged emotional issues which may interact with their own personal issues or past experiences. This article examines the types of counter-transference phenomenon which may arise in the child custody evaluation, and presents tips for identifying and managing such reactions.     

Behavioral Science Criteria in Child Custody Determinations

This is an investigation of the relationships between the characteristics of lawyers, psychiatrists, psychologists, and social workers and the criteria they employ when they are involved in child custody legal proceedings. The findings reveal disciplinary distictions, equity for the mother and father, and influence from demographic variables regarding the preference for criteria to be applied for child custody determination.     

Influences on Professionals' Child Custody Recommendations

Professionals' recommendations of child custody in divorce cases are being viewed as increasingly important determinants of children's divorce adjustment. This study examined custody recommendations and professional and personal influences on the advice of professionals working with divorce. Subjects were 12 clergy, 24 lawyers, 25 pediatricians, 11 family physicians, 25 social workers, 24 psychologists, and 9 psychiatrists. Professionals completed a questionnaire which addressed seven areas influencing their decision making and which related professionals' recommendations in hypothetical and actual divorce cases. Data were analyzed using analyses of variance, chi-squares, and multiple regression analyses. Lawyers were found to be more professionally constrained, to have more professional experience, to be less psychologically oriented in their practice, and to be the most likely of the professionals to make custody recommendations. Sole parent custody was most often recommended in the actual case, with professional experience, professional constraints, and personal values and experience being the best predictors for sex of the custodian. Psychologicalness of practice and knowledge were the best predictors of sole parent custody with the hypothetical case, although joint custody was most often recommended.     

Use of Collateral Contacts in Child Custody Evaluations

ABSTRACT

Four hundred nineteen members of the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts (AFCC) identify themselves as custody evaluators in the 1999–2000 membership directory. One hundred of these custody evaluators were randomly selected for inclusion in this survey of the use of collateral contact interviews in child custody evaluations. Fifty-three of those selected responded to a brief questionnaire concerning their use and views of collaterals. All evaluators reported use of the collateral interview. Most practitioners reported using both personal and telephone interviews. Respondents indicated that they interview family and friends, but routinely place greater trust in more objective sources that have no obvious, vested interest in outcome. More experienced evaluators reported evolving toward use of written questionnaires for use in interviewing collateral sources for purposes of risk management as well as increasing relevance and convergent validity.     

The Use of Questionnaires in Child Custody Evaluations

ABSTRACT

Results from the author's recent survey, and a review of major texts and principal journals in the field, show that examiner-designed questionnaires are used extensively in child custody evaluations. It is clear, however, that experts face significant challenges regarding the admissibility of the evidence gathered from questionnaires in terms of meeting current legal standards. This article describes methods for improving the relevance, reliability, helpfulness, and validity of questionnaires within the context of a multi-method, multi-source assessment strategy.     

Ethical Issues in Child Custody and Dependency Cases

Abstract

The emotional and psychological risks to children of high conflict divorce have led to the increased involvement of mental health professionals in child custody cases. Numerous service models (Greenberg & Gould, 2001; Johnston, 2000; Johnston & Roseby, 1997) have been developed to assist divorcing families in minimizing family conflict and supporting children'S needs. This underscores the need for judges and attorneys to understand the ethical and professional standards that underlie competent mental health practice in forensic cases. The practices of mental health professionals providing court-related services may have a substantial impact on the validity of their professional opinions, the effectiveness of services provided to children and families, and children'S development and adjustment. The authors suggest core ethical and clinical issues to be considered by all psychologists who work in the context of custody disputes. It is hoped that these professional practice suggestions will also be useful to attorneys and judicial officers in assessing the quality of mental health professionals' opinions.     

Use of Psychological Tests in Child Custody Assessment

SUMMARY

This article describes a functional, comprehensive approach to the use of psychological tests and measures in a child custody evaluation. I describe a conceptual framework to be used in choosing assessment techniques that are used to assess functional aspects of parenting competencies and other related variables helpful in creating a reliable foundation from which to generate opinions about custodial placement and visitation access. Finally, I provide a practical example of how psychological test data might be presented in an advisory report to the court.     

An Integrated Approach to Child Custody Evaluation

This paper provides an integrated approach to child custody evaluations through utilizing the "best interests" of the child and family systems frameworks. Although these frameworks differ in their basic orientations to conceptualizing the process of evaluating child custody cases, this article proposes that each model contributes to a comprehensive understanding of the complexities related to such conditions. In addition, these two perspectives offer a basis for making differential decisions based on the unique aspects related to a particular child custody case. The underlying assumptions and theoretical orientations of both models are identified and explored. Based on a discussion comparing and contrasting the two models, this paper offers a framework for utilizing both perspectives as well as a method for selecting the most appropriate approach to employ depending on the unique aspects of a child custody case. Recognizing the significant interplay between the legal and mental health professions, the authors identify the various issues that often impede successful collaborative efforts between these professional groups. In addition, guidelines are offered that can enhance the likelihood that these professions can work more effectively together.     

Evaluating Allegations of Child Sexual Abuse Within Complex Child Custody Cases

SUMMARY

This article provides a framework for identifying and assembling the interdependent elements of a child custody evaluation with allegations of child sexual abuse. The identification of several myths regarding child sexual abuse (CSA) introduces the subject matter of this article. A forensic evaluation model (Heilbrun, 2001) is then used to organize the custody evaluator's tasks into the following sequential classifications: (a) preparation; (b) data collection; (c) data interpretation; and (d) communication of results. Through this model, the entwined tasks of evaluating the child's needs and the parents' capacities to meet the child's needs, while simultaneously examining the question of child sexual abuse, are addressed.     

Risk Reduction Interventions in the Child Custody Relocation Case

Abstract

When a custodial parent chooses to relocate to a new community, the child of divorce faces a life transition that is potentially even more traumatic than the parental break-up. Recent developments in Relocation Law have guided courts to generally allow the custodial parent to move away with the child. Divorce effects research and a recent model of risk assessment for relocation suggest factors that predict potential harm or protection for the child. Family mediators and psychotherapists have important roles to play in reducing the risk. These tasks are described and six aspirational principles of risk reduction for relocation suggested.     

Value Biases in Child Custody Disputes and Remommendations:

The present study examined social work students' perceptions of major custody arrangments. Although subjects used appropriate criteria in making their recommendations, custody was seldom awarded to fathers even when they qualified for it. It is suggested that because the students were value-biased, their professional socialization should be reconsidered.     

Review of Empirical Research on Child Custody Practice

ABSTRACT

This article reviews the current state of child custody practice and its significant changes over the past 20 years. Three types of research methodology are reviewed regarding child custody practice: survey research with child custody evaluators, survey research with judges and attorneys, and content analysis of child custody reports. The assessment of specialized issues in child custody evaluations, such as sexual abuse and domestic violence, are addressed as well. Factors promoting change in child custody practice over the years are discussed, along with areas needing further improvement and research.     

Evaluating the Probative Value of Child Custody Evaluations

Abstract

The ultimate purpose of a child custody evaluation is to assist children and their families to restructure their family lives after divorce. A competent forensic work product is defined, in part, by the eval-uator'S use of current state of the art forensic methods and procedures applied to child custody evaluations (Gould, 1998). In this paper, a detailed structure for reviewing the reliability and relevance of a child custody advisory report is provided in order to help these professionals produce a work product of greater weight and sufficiency to the court and a work product that is increasingly useful to the families we seek to help.     

Use of the One-Way Mirror in Child Custody Reunification Cases

Abstract

This paper describes a desensitization protocol that uses the one-way mirror as a tool to reintroduce children to an alienated or estranged parent. The one-way mirror provides a physical and psychological barrier from direct contact with a parent whom the child fears and allows the clinician to more easily control the pace of the reunification process. Allowing a child to view the estranged parent from behind the one-way mirror can significantly reduce a child's anxiety and provides a shield of safety that can make the reunification process tolerable, if not fun. A well equipped viewing room that uses electronic communications technology can permit the child and parent to talk to one another by speaker, thus further alleviating anxiety as the child can hear the estranged parent's voice and ask questions from behind the mirror. A protocol is described that can be adapted to clinics without access to a one-way mirror, and a case example is provided.