Abstract
We surveyed a national sample of family law attorneys (N = 192) regarding their beliefs and opinions about child custody evaluations, particularly those performed by independent/private practitioners. Findings revealed participants' strongly preferred court-ordered evaluations performed by doctoral-level psychologists who assumed a neutral position. The participants expressed concern regarding procedures used by evaluators, the application of evaluation data to the Best Interests of the Child Standard, and certain report components. A clear majority supported evaluators making recommendations about custody and parenting time, but their satisfaction with these evaluations varied widely. Specific concerns and suggestions noted by the participants are highlighted; we conclude with recommendations.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 301-312 |
| Number of pages | 12 |
| Journal | Family Court Review |
| Volume | 49 |
| Issue number | 2 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Apr 2011 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- Child custody evaluations
- attorneys
- custody
- forensic evaluations
- mental health professionals
- parenting time
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Law