A Floor,Not a Ceiling

Abstract

With the identification of twenty-six standards, this article argues that the child custody evaluation field has defined a set of minimum practice standards that go beyond the aspirational goals of existing “guidelines” and “parameters.7rdquo; These twenty-six standards constitute a floor, but not a ceiling, for conducting child custody evaluations (CCEs).     

Countertransference Bias in Child Custody Evaluations Is Just a Horse of a Different Color: A Rejoinder to Martindale and Gould

ABSTRACT

The authors' reply to Martindale and Gould's critique of Pickar's article (2007a, this issue), “Countertransference Bias in the Child Custody Evaluator.” Martindale and Gould's objections to considering an evaluator's countertransference reactions as a potential source of bias are addressed by focusing on these four areas: (1) Whether it is useful to introduce the term “countertransference bias” to identify a potential source of distortion in custody evaluations; (2) How the empirical literature on countertransference in the context of psychotherapy might apply to the child custody evaluation process; (3) Clarification of areas of agreement and disagreement with Martindale and Gould, and (4) The importance of evaluator attempts at “debiasing.” We conclude that gaining awareness of countertransference reactions can only enhance the evaluator's ability to provide the most objective custody evaluation possible.     

Is “Best Interests” a Solution to Filling Potholes in Child Custody Planning?

ABSTRACT

The role of the child custody evaluator and the principle of “best interests” have been well contemplated in the literature. This article suggests that the “best interest principle” serves the purpose of providing fill for gaps in the court systems engaged in the work of child custody planning. Using sociologist Dorothy Smith's research approach, Institutional Ethnography, the writer unearths the purpose of these potholes using a concept Smith coined as “Ruling Relations.”     

Safety First

Abstract

A substantial percentage of contested child custody cases involve allegations of domestic violence. The impact on the psychological health and physical safety of the child exposed to domestic violence has only recently become a focus of the courts' and child custody evalu-ators' attention. Currently, the majority of state statutes include consideration of domestic violence in “best interests” child custody criteria. However, many of the statues do not provide the child custody evaluator the specific criteria to consider, especially if the domestic violence allegations have not been previously reported to authorities prior to the commencement of separation and divorce proceedings. This article presents the first three steps of the six-step Safety First Model, designed to assist the legal and psychological professions to focus on the priorities on the safety of children exposed to domestic violence.     

Experiences of Custody Evaluation: Perspectives of Young Adults Who Were the Subject of Family Court Proceedings as Children

ABSTRACT

Court-ordered custody evaluations are conducted primarily to assist courts in making decisions regarding the best interests of children in the context of parental disputes over custody and access. They also represent the most common means through which children's wishes in relation to custody and access are presented as evidence. This article reports on a qualitative research study of young adults' recollections of participating in custody evaluations ordered by the Family Court of Australia. In-depth interviews were conducted with 18 young adults, aged 18 to 26. Two major areas of inquiry are addressed in this article: (1) participants' recollections of interviews conducted by social workers and psychologists for the purpose of custody evaluation, and (2) their suggestions for ways in which professionals working with children in this context might make the process easier for children. Taken together, their experiences point to some useful principles for practice in this field.     

Critiquing a Colleague's Forensic Advisory Report

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to provide a protocol within which to frame a critique or critical review of a colleague's custody evaluation. While we think that the structure and logic of the following protocol may be applied to other forensic evaluations, our focus here is on the specific forensic specialty area of child custody and parenting access evaluations (CCEs).     

Strategies to Address Clinical Bias in the Child Custody Evaluation Process

ABSTRACT

Researchers have explored the existence and effects of bias on decision making for decades. Studies indicate that mental health professionals are not immune from unintentional bias in judgments, including those in forensic situations. Custody evaluators should be aware of the pitfalls that exist in clinical decision-making as well as strategies to address them. This article connects existing insights from therapeutic and forensic literature to the field of custody evaluations. An overview of clinical bias in custody evaluation is offered to familiarize practitioners with the range of possible problems. Examples, such as biases inherent in the scientific process and the clinical relationship, are followed with specific recommendations regarding how to address issues of clinical bias during evaluation. Insights are offered for judges and attorneys to improve the quality of reports they receive.     

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.     

Incorporating the Principles of Scientifically Based Child Interviews into Family Law Cases

Abstract

In recent years, scientific work has been directed toward the evaluation of suspected sexually abused children. While in many ways this remains a controversial area, sound evidence has emerged regarding how children should be interviewed in order to enhance their ability to report their experience and as to avoid contamination of their memory. In this article, the authors take the position that the science is now sufficiently evolved so that such interviewing techniques can be applied to interviewing children in child custody evaluations.     

When Form Fails to Follow Function

Abstract

Benjamin and Gollan'S (2003) new primer on conducting child custody evaluations, published by the American Psychological Association, presents the authors' flawed evaluation protocol with little discussion of the risks and benefits of the practices they advocate. The authors fail to note where their model varies significantly from the custody evaluation guidelines required by law in some states, and promulgated by various professional organizations. The most troubling practices include not interviewing and assessing pre-adolescent children, destroying videotapes of interviews and observation sessions, organizing the evaluation around parental allegations, use of a suggestive allegation checklist, and limiting consideration of information from collateral witnesses to declarations submitted under penalty of perjury.     

How Can the MMPI-2 Help Child Custody Examiners?

SUMMARY

The paper explores what hypotheses we can infer from the MMPI-2 regarding parenting behaviors and what are the significant limitations on our inferences. The first half looks at the MMPI-2 from a child custody view: is there a foundation from which the test can generate expectations regarding five basic issues, i.e., the quality of attachment and bonding, potential for antisocial behavior, temper control, alienation of affection, and chemical abuse and dependence. The second half looks at custody from an MMPI-2 point of view: what is the range of possible variables that will generate useful hypotheses regarding parent-child interactions and family systems? The effects of the circumstances of litigation on score elevations are considered, including recommended limits as to how much elevation can be dismissed as only contextual. “Occasion validity” (are these scores trustworthy) is distinguished from “Attribute validity” (what do the scores tell us). The clinical application of an objective interpretation system is discussed, including the courtroom credibility of explicit convergent validity.     

Testing,One, Two,Three, Testing: An Attorney Perspective

SUMMARY

This article addresses the attorney perspective on the use of psychometric testing in the context of family law child custody evaluations. Although attorneys, judicial officers and child custody evaluators “use” psychometric testing in family law matters, the ways in which each discipline uses the information gleaned from the results of these tests as administered to child custody litigants can differ substantially. This article distinguishes the attorney perspective from the mental health perspective in the use of the results of such tests.     

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.     

What the Rorschach Can Contribute to Child Custody and Parenting Time Evaluations

SUMMARY

Personality assessment can indirectly help custody evalu-ators answer important questions about parental competence and the fit between parents' psychological resources and children's needs. It is preferable to use testing to check hypotheses derived from the case information rather than the reverse. The Rorschach makes it possible to assess implicit motives, coping capacities, and need states, thus complementing and supplementing self-attributed personal characteristics from the MMPI-2 and other self-report data. It also offers idiographic information for individualizing assessments. Concerns about admissibility and charges that the Rorschach “overpathologizes” litigants are addressed, and suggestions are offered for making optimal use of the Rorschach in child custody work.     

Arguments Against a Presumption of Shared Physical Custody in Family Law

ABSTRACT

The introduction of the “best interests of the child” standard as a legal presumption in family law in the 1970s signaled an important transition away from a maternal preference standard in child custody disputes, toward a recognition of the centrality and importance of both parents in the lives of children after parental separation. Paradoxically, this reform resulted in an increase rather than decrease in court-determined maternal sole custody. Despite robust empirical evidence in support of shared parenting, a gender convergence in child care roles, and increasing public support for shared parenting, the idea of shared parenting as a legal presumption has been met with skepticism and resistance among some legal and mental health professionals. This article traces the evolution of arguments against shared parenting since the concept was first introduced, from the early 1970s until the present day.     

Influence of the Caldwell report,and other computer generated interpretive reports,in child custody evaluations: A brief report

Abstract

This brief report reviews the use of MMPI-2 computer-generated interpretive reports in child custody evaluations. Particular attention was aimed at the Caldwell Report’s MMPI-2 Custody Report. Considering the recent temporary closure of the Caldwell Report, this article will discuss what scoring and report options remain currently for interpretive custody reports. A perspective is shared that a dependence on computer-generated interpretive reports is detrimental to the science and practice of custody evaluation work. Finally, the author calls for future and revised computer-generated interpretive reports to include more information regarding a link to conclusions, gender bias, and peer reviewed research.     

Introduction to the Volume on Psychological Testing in Child Custody Evaluations

ABSTRACT

Allegations of domestic violence are among the most difficult to assess when they are posed during a child custody evaluation. We discuss the social and political context within which such evaluations occur. We describe both historical and current conceptualizations of and research concerning domestic violence. We end by discussing a variety of factors evaluators may consider using when developing an evaluation protocol to assess allegations of domestic violence within the context of child custody disputes.     

Countertransference Bias: Self-Examination,Not Cross-Examination

ABSTRACT

In reply to T. Tippins (2007, this issue), we take issue with his claim that recognition of the biasing impact of custody evaluators' countertransference opens the door to “evidentially legitimate” fishing expeditions through evaluators' private lives on cross-examination. We clarify the distinction between self-examination for counter-transference bias as a heuristic for improving the sensitivity and objectivity of expert testimony and its use as substantive evidence. We argue that countertransference bias is a highly personal, emotionally charged kind of bias, unlike the cognitive biases more frequently discussed in the child custody literature. We conclude that recognition of the insidious emotional influences that threaten our objectivity in working with families in high conflict divorce is an important ethical responsibility.     

The Investigation Component in Forensic Mental Health Evaluations

Abstract

Part of the data gathering and analysis in any parenting time evaluation involves investigation into sources of information that provide a factual basis for measuring key factors. However, this investigative function of the child custody evaluator has not been systematically described. In this article, investigative data collection is discussed in terms of holding a discriminating and skeptical eye in reviewing sources of information. The need to conduct forensic “detective work” and factfinding is discussed. The importance of the investigative mindset for the evaluator is to increase the completeness and accuracy of measurement of key variables, which increases the validity and accuracy of predictions on child developmental outcomes for the court.