Article archive / November 2022
Originally published: . Volume 13, No. 11. Source pages: 8.
by Leslie Todd, LCSW, ACSW AFCC Correspondent
After two years of review and revision, The Association of Family and Conciliation Courts (AFCC) Board of Directors has approved new Guidelines for Parenting Plan Evaluations. These Guidelines replace the former Model Standards of Practice for Child Custody Evaluations. They are offered as a roadmap to make certain the evaluator is properly trained and employs proper methodology to ensure an unbiased and comprehensive evaluation.
The 33-page document is an excellent resource for mental health professionals who may be interested in adding Family Court work to their services. Here is a brief summary of the subjects which are more fully covered in the Guidelines:
1. An overview of guiding principles and values: Transparency and accountability are essential, as is informed practice that is sensitive to just and equitable processes. Families undergoing evaluation deserve the utmost respect of their personhood during this stressful process.
2. Education and competency: A master’s degree is the minimum educational requirement, but family law work requires specialization. AFCC provides in-person and on-line training throughout the year in every aspect of custody evaluation.
3. Knowledge of family law: A sufficient understanding of state law and local procedures is necessary. Mental health practitioners are often afraid to ask, but they can request formal clarifications from the Court regarding the particulars of an Order or a procedure. The Court is usually eager to assist its mental health experts—they need us!
4. Multiple relationships and role conflicts: This is usually where mental health professionals get in trouble. It is essential to keep very clear boundaries between therapeutic and evaluation work: they cannot occur in the same case. Once you’re the therapist, you can’t become the evaluator, and vice versa.
5. Communication: This begins with the Court’s Appointment Order, and the scope should be very clear. Your own policies and procedures, contracts and other written information should be very clear. All parties, including children, must be made aware that there is only limited confidentiality in court- ordered evaluations.
6. Records: Meticulous record-keeping is essential, from phone calls to contemporaneous notes. The Guidelines suggest that records should be kept until the youngest child in the case reaches majority. Ensure your paperwork covers all the bases and refine it continually by consultation with peers.
7. Data gathering: Multiple data streams are necessary for an objective, well-sourced evaluation. The use of questionnaires as well as interviews of each party are discussed. It is important to cover specialized topics such as domestic violence, substance misuse, and information regarding possible relocations, for examples.
8. Child interviews: Special skills are required to gain the trust of children and elicit relevant information. Advanced training is necessary not only in the stages of child development and the effects of familial separations in those stages, but also in attachment theory and ACES. Also, forensic interviewing skills are necessary to insure the reliability and validity of the information gathered.
9. Observational and interactional assessments: Use of playroom toys and interactional games between parents and children help assess the quality of relationships. The Guidelines note that evaluators should look for clues about the parent’s empathic attunement and methods of influencing or managing the child’s behavior during the session. 10. Collateral data collection: Medical and mental health records, school records and other data from third party sources are necessary. Policies addressing submissions are also discussed.
11. Use of formal assessment instruments: The decision whether to use testing instruments like the MMPI must be explained, and of course if they are used, they must be administered and interpreted only by qualified experts. The Guidelines cautions that there may be “an aura of precision which may be misleading,” and recommends that test results are not granted greater weight than the sum of the other data points.
12. Interpretation of the data: The Guidelines discusses how to write a report which clearly links the gathered data to the conclusions and recommendations made, and that keeps within the scope of the Order.
13. Multiple evaluators: In institutional or clinical settings, two or more evaluators may work together. In such cases, a lead evaluator should be named (and be available for court appearances.)
14. Virtual evaluation: Since the pandemic, Family Courts have shifted rapidly to on-line services. Special care should be taken to assess whether a virtual evaluation is contraindicated.
Parenting Plan Evaluations are evolving into less-traumatic, more family-friendly procedures, and the Louisiana Chapter of the AFCC (AFCC-LA) is very interested in seeing more mental health professionals join us in providing these services. If you are interested, take a look at the Guidelines at www.afccnet.org/practiceguidelines and contact admin@afccla.org.
This article is part of a historical newspaper archive. Read the original issue for its original layout, photographs and graphics.