CHAPTER EXCERPTS

Chapter One – BEST INTERESTS OF THE CHILD

“Every current book, journal article or research finding about child custody disputes makes immediate reference to “the best interests of the child” and to “best practice standards.” We might say that the two concepts are joined at the hip, but the former is often not as well- defined as the latter. It is as though anyone engaged in this work should understand exactly what they mean.

This chapter explores best interests because this concept is at the foundation of the work a custody evaluator does, and is elusive and vaguely presented in the literature. Best standards are more thoroughly researched and better defined and will be discussed in the next chapter. As we seek clarity on these twin concepts, we can think of best interests as the “content” of our investigation and best standards as the “process’ that guides us.” (p.1)

Chapter Two – BEST PRACTICE STANDARDS

“We need to understand and share our biases openly with parents at the beginning of the work together. The most important one to address is whether we are biased in favor of a single, stable home for the child with one primary parent, or the belief that children do better when they have substantial chunks of time with both parents. I share with parents my own bias for the latter, unless I have evidence that the other parent is a confirmed substance abuser, a confirmed perpetrator of physical, emotion or sexual abuse to either the other parent or the child, or has been diagnosed with a serious mental illness. These are the three conditions that are likely to result in an order for sole custody to the more stable parent by the court.” (p.9)

Chapter Eight – THE WRITTEN REPORT

“When I first began doing custody evaluations, my reports were at least twenty-five pages. One particularly difficult family prompted me to write a report that was nearly fifty pages and it read like the “great American novel.” The case was so complex that I felt compelled to present an excess of documentation and detail in order to support the recommendations. What I didn’t understand then is that a judge is require to read many such reports in a given week and might, out of necessity, skip to the “Recommendations” and skim through the rest.

“Now I strive for brevity and my reports are between 10 – 12 pages. The organizing framework of the assessment categories, described in Chapter Five, helps me decide what is important to include and what can be left out. When I am called to testify on the report, it is evident that the judge has read it.” (p.70)

Chapter 9 – TESTIFYING IN COURT

“I remind myself that my work was either ordered by a family court judge or by stipulated agreement of the attorneys and this provides me quasi-judicial immunity. Once I have earned the trust of our judges, I am fairly certain that they will read my reports, consider my recommendations and use them to help the parties settle. I regard myself as the judge’s assistant, who takes the time to do the “leg work” that she or he does not have the time to do. In the end, it is the judge who decides the ultimate question, and in performing such a service, the family can be changed forever. This behooves me, as the assistant, to stay calm, answer every question to the best of my ability, to say “I don’t know” when I don’t, to ask for clarification when questions are too complex, and to expand my responses when the questions are too simplistic. The judge and the evaluator are both committed to serve the best interests of the child and, as such, this relationship can be seen as the ultimate collaboration.” (p. 75)