Child Custody Evaluations

Introduction: "Custody Evaluations" are Often Referred to as "Parenting Time Evaluations."

Why Do I Need a Custody or Parenting Time Evaluation?

Custody disputes are challenging to resolve. It is no longer the position of courts that that one person will be awarded sole custody and the other awarded residual parenting time. Although not all cases proceed to the trial phase, those that do often involve high conflict and complex issues. When parents are unable to agree on responsibilities, a court may rely on a comprehensive custody evaluation to gather and interpret information about the family that can be used in determining custody and parenting outcomes that are in the best interest of the child.

What Information Do Parenting Time/Custody Evaluators Collect?

Custody evaluations are a type of forensic investigation that analyzes the strengths of the parents, and/or other individuals who may be seeking custody or visitation. These comprehensive evaluations include, but are not limited to the following:

Interviews with each party seeking custody or parenting time.
Interviews with each child.
Interviews with stepparents, significant others, or any adult residing in the home.
Interviews with step- or half siblings residing in the home.
Interviews with childcare providers, school personnel, counselors, medical professionals, social service agencies, guardians ad litem, and law enforcement agencies.
Results of clinical psychological tests.
Histories of each parent, each child, including child abuse, domestic violence, substance abuse, psychiatric illness, and involvement with the legal systems.
School reports as relevant.
Information from observations of the child with the adults involved.
Information resulting from any other relevant source that can contribute information about the needs of the child.

Custody evaluations gather information from multiple sources to ensure that a complete view of the family dynamics is conducted as they relate to the best interests of the child.

What Makes a Custody Evaluation Different From Other Psychological Evaluations?

There is a great difference between a custody evaluation and evaluations used for treatment planning in the clinical setting. All evaluations are performed by licensed highly trained clinical practitioners, but custody evaluation is conducted by a licensed professional with special training beyond statistics and clinical observation and treatment skills. The custody evaluator has knowledge and expereince in the areas of child development, family relationships, interviewing, and family pathology. A custody evaluator must possess some very important qualities and competencies that include, but are not limited to: experience with high-conflict resolution, understanding of the allegation-driven quality of high-conflict litigation, a deep knowledge of the process of managing individuals who are under extreme stress throughout custody litigation, and although not a legal practitioner, has some familiarity with the legalities of custody resolution. The custody evaluator is always ready to learn and to grow as societal attitudes change.

As custody evaluators, we request to be appointed by the court in a formal court order as stipulated to by both parties. In custody, there is no doctor-patient relationship between the evaluator and the parties because there is no treatment taking place. Insurance companies do not cover custody services because an illness is not being treated and behavioral change is not the goal of the provision of custody services. .Rather, the custody evaluator assesses parenting skills in terms of what is needed for the child. Custody evaluation is about providing the court with a deeper understanding of the parent-child relationship and the environment in which the child is being raised.

What Is the Typical Process of Information Collection in a Custody / Parenting Time Evaluation?

Interview with the parents (i.e., relationship history, physical and mental health histories, criminal background, allegations of alienating behavior).
Interview with the Child (i.e., assessment health, parent-child relationship, parental preferences).
Testing information is not always necessary in a particular custody evaluation. However, the use of these tools is often highly informative (i.e., formal testing instruments can augment clinical observation, and inventories can be used to assist in the determination of parenting skills, maladaptive personality traits, and metal illness).
Collateral Information Collection ( ie., information from grandparents, caregivers, school personnel, physicians, and therapists, etc.).
The Evaluation Report is a compilation of interviews, observations, and testing information integrated into a summary of conclusions and recommendations for the court

Who Gets the Report? What Confidentiality Can I Expect?

Typically, each attorney receives a copy, or section of a copy of the report as previously agreed upon by the attorneys in the case. The chain of report custody is carefully protected. The participants provide to Kenfield Walters LLC Release of Information authorizing in writing the release of the respective litigant reports to specified entities. The court will specify to what degree to which the proceedings will be available to the public. Your attorney will advise you on this matter. The valuator may not re-release sensitive information that is collected during the evaluation process.

What is the Difference Between Full Versus Partial (Brief-Focused) Custody Evaluations?

A full custody evaluation was defined by Sup. 91.01 (E) of the Ohio regulations as "a comprehensive examination of the best interest of the child." A full evaluation is intensive as it includes interviews with multiple sources of collateral information, the use of psychological testing, direct observations of the child and parents, and other information-gathering methods. It is broad-reaching.

A partial custody evaluation or brief-focused evaluation is an "examination of the best interests the child that is limited by court order in either time or scope." [Sup.R. 91.01 (F)] A limited evaluation may be used when a single issue, or a distinct set of individual issues needs to be investigated to inform aspects of the court's decision. A partial evaluation is not ordered when custody or the allocation of parental decision-making is at issue. Partial evaluations are an alternative when a family has undergone a full custody evaluation and returned to court on a single issue; and are most appropriately used when a short period of time has elapsed since the full evaluation was conducted. Short evaluations may not be substituted for full evaluations. Short evaluations are generally less expensive and less intrusive than the full evaluation. When ordering a partial evaluation, the court should clearly define in the court Order of Appointment what is at issue or under dispute. An Order makes the scope of the evaluation clear to all the parties involved. Asking the right question ensures that the evaluator investigates the right issue. In other words, the scope of the evaluation is narrowed clearly in the court Order of Appointment. A court order signifies to all that the evaluation is viewed as an asset to the court's decision-making.

TO CONCLUDE

Custody evaluations are ordered when courts are seeking to obtain: an evaluation of each parent's mental health and social well-being; an in depth study of the a child's psychosocial needs; and a comparison of the capacity of parents to meet those needs. At Kenfield Walters, we can provide an in-depth research-based analysis focused on a full range of psychological, psycho-social, co-parenting, and custodial issues to assist in informing the judiciary's decision-making.

WHAT SETS US APART FROM OTHER EVALUATORS?

We are seasoned professionals and we understand fully the parental and family-wide stresses involved in this process as individuals adjust to the restructuring of familial relationships, and changed parent and child living arrangements. We manage the process transparently and make the proceedings as stress-free as possible.

Please call us to discuss your needs.

Judith C. Walters, Ph.D., LP, LFMT.

Resources

Association of Family and Conciliation Courts, Guidelines for Parenting Plan

Evaluations in Family Law (May 11, 2022), www.afccnet.org/Portals/0/PDF/

Guidelines%20for%20Parenting%20Plan%20Evaluations%20in%20Family%20

Law12.pdf.

American Psychological Association, Guidelines for Child Custody Evaluations

in Family Law Proceedings (2010), www.apa.org/practice/guidelines/child-custody [As of the publication of this toolkit, these guidelines are being revised].

Association of Family and Conciliation Courts, Guidelines for Examining

Intimate Partner Violence: A Supplement to the AFCC Model Standards of Practice for Child Custody Evaluation, (April 9, 2016), www.afccnet.org/Portals/0/PDF/Guidelines%20for%20Examining%20Intimate%20Partner%20Violence%20(1).pdf.

Micaiah Zwartz, Report Writing in the Forensic Context: Recurring Problems & the Use of a Checklist to Address Them, 25 Psychiatry, Psychology and Law 578 (2018).

Jeffrey Wittman, Evaluating Evaluators: An Attorney’s Handbook for Analyzing Child Custody Reports (2013).

William G. Austin and Leslie M. Drozd, Judge’s Bench Book for Application of the Integrated Framework for the Assessment of Intimate Partner Violence in Child CustodyDisputes, 10 J Child Custody 99 (2013).

Sharon Kenndy. Patrick Fisher, Michael Donnelly, et. al., Subcommittee on Family Law Reform Implementation to the Supreme Court of Ohio's Advisory Committee On Children & Families, Custody Evaluation: Toolkit for Judicial Use (July 2023) [Retrieved 2/1/2025]

https://www.supremecourt.ohio.gov/docs/JCS/courtSvcs/resources/Custo