Custody Evaluations

A child custody evaluation is a process in which a mental health expert evaluates your family and makes a recommendation to the court for a custody / visitation or parenting plan that is in your child's best interests.  The evaluator gathers information about your family and makes a recommendation based on that information. In an ideal situation, you and your ex-spouse can use that recommendation to reach a settlement, but if not, the judge can use the evaluation, along with all other testimony, to make an order for your family. 

The process includes:

• At least two,  individual interviews with each parent.  

• At least two individual interviews with each child.  

• Observations of your children with each parent.  

• Review of court documents and other appropriate written information.  

• Contact with some collateral sources (e.g. therapists, teachers, day-care personnel, pediatricians)  

•  A written report with specific recommendations about custody / visitation, and which addresses all of the major concerns raised by you and your ex-spouse.

In addition, your evaluator might do psychological testing or use questionnaires that help provide additional information about your emotional functioning or parenting style. These additional techniques are commonly used by mental health professionals, especially in more complicated evaluations, and they are designed to provide further information that will help in his/her recommendations. Your evaluator might also include a home visit at each parent's home. This is designed to give the evaluator an observation of your family in a more natural setting. Home visits are particularly useful with very young children, especially those under age 6.