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| Preface | |
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| Critical Professional and Ethical Issues | |
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| Introduction to the Role, Ethics, and Professional Responsibility | |
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| How the Courts Benefit From an Evaluation | |
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| How the Family Benefits From an Evaluation | |
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| When is the Evaluation Harmful | |
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| Who is the Client/Consumer | |
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| Practical Standards and Ethical Issues | |
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| Evaluator Biases | |
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| Reducing the Risk of Bias | |
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| The Mental Health Expert's Many Possible Roles | |
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| Therapists | |
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| Therapeutic Reunification | |
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| Collaborative Law Coach | |
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| Psychologist Evaluator/Psychiatrist/Vocational Evaluator | |
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| Mediator | |
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| Consultant to Attorney/Expert Witness | |
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| Parent Coordinator | |
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| The Custody Evaluator | |
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| Dual Relationships | |
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| Fundamental Questions in Most Custody Evaluations | |
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| The Best Interests of the Child | |
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| The Family's Relationships | |
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| Parenting Strengths and Weaknesses | |
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| The Co-Parental Relationship | |
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| Time-Sharing Recommendations | |
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| General divorce-Related Research and Basic Statutory and Case Law | |
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| A Quick Primer on Research | |
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| Risks of Divorce to Children | |
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| Risk vs. Resiliency | |
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| Mitigating Factors | |
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| Research on Parent's Relationships After Divorce | |
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| Basic Statutory and Case Law | |
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| Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act (UCCJEA) | |
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| Parental Kidnapping Prevention Act | |
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| Troxel Vs. Granville (2000) | |
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| Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction | |
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| California Statutes and Case Law | |
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| Children's Developmental Needs | |
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| A Developmental Framework | |
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| Conducting the Child Custody Evaluation | |
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| Conducting the Evaluation Part I: Observations and Techniques With Adults | |
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| The Court Order and Initial Contact With Attorneys | |
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| The Initial Phone Call and Contacts With Parents | |
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| The Initial Contact | |
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| The First Conjoint Appointment | |
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| The Initial Individual Appointment | |
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| The Second Interview and Beyond | |
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| What to Believe? | |
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| The Use of Psychological Tests | |
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| Conducting the Evaluation Part II: Observations and Techniques With Children | |
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| Significant Issues in the Assessment of Children/Gaining Rapport at the Beginning of the First Interview | |
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| Children and the Potential for Suggestibility | |
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| Children and Their Language | |
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| Gathering Information About the Child's Experiences | |
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| Directly Assessing the Parent-Child Bond | |
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| Siblings Together, or Not? | |
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| Use of Play and Other Techniques in Understanding Children | |
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| Home Visits | |
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| The Preference of the Child | |
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| The Use of Psychological Testing in Custody Evaluations | |
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| Review of the Literature | |
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| Traditional Psychological Tests | |
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| Tests Designed Specifically for Custody Evaluations | |
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| Parenting Inventories | |
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| Tests for Children | |
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| Benefits of Using Tests | |
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| Risks in Using Tests | |
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| Computerized Test Results | |
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| A Balanced Approach | |
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| Gathering of Collateral Data | |
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| What is Collateral Data? | |
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| Benefits of Using Collateral Data | |
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| Record Review | |
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| Gathering Lists of Collateral Sources | |
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| Who To Talk To - A Concentric Circle Approach | |
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| Interviewing Collateral Sources | |
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| Sharing the Results of the Evaluation - The Evaluation Report | |
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| AFCC Model Standards | |
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| Basic Characteristics of a Quality Report | |
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| Information Which Must be in Every Report | |
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| The Parents | |
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| The Children | |
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| Collateral Information | |
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| Analysis and Summary | |
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| Recommendations | |
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| Complex Issues to be Evaluated | |
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| Non-Violent High Conflict Families | |
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| Contribution From Personality Features | |
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| Contribution From Other Sources | |
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| Recommendations for High Conflict Families | |
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| A Case for Sole Legal custody of Decision Making | |
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| Domestic Violence | |
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| The Concept of Differentiation | |
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| Approaching the Family's Domestic Violence Issues | |
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| Parenting Problems of Domestic Violence Parents | |
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| Gathering Data | |
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| The Alphabet Soup of Using Data to Formulate Conclusions | |
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| Using the PPPP Analysis with the RRR Concepts to Reach a Decision About the Parenting Plan | |
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| Therapeutic and Structural Interventions | |
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| The Alienated Child | |
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| Contribution to the Child's Alienated Response | |
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| Parent Contributions to the Development of Alienation | |
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| Child Contributions to the Development of Alienation | |
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| Typical Alienated Behaviors in Children | |
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| Emotional Impact of Alienation on Children | |
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| Dynamics of the Larger System | |
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| Evaluation of Alienation | |
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| Other Reasons for Alignment With One Parent - What to Look for in the Children | |
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| Concluding the Evaluation | |
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| Relocation Evaluations | |
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| Legal Considerations in Relocation Evaluations - Relevant Case Law | |
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| Legal Considerations in Relocation Evaluations - Relevant Statutory Law | |
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| The Psychological Literature Related to Relocation | |
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| Societal Issue That Often Lead to Requests to Move | |
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| Factors for the Evaluator to Consider | |
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| Special Issues in International Cases | |
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| Avoiding Bias | |
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| Tackling the Terror of Testifying | |
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| The Deposition | |
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| The Process at Trial | |
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| Preparing for the Testimony | |
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| Testifying Procedures | |
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| Stick to the Data | |
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| Dealing With Hypothetical Questions | |
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| Remain Professional | |
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| Trick Questions | |
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| Do's and Don'ts for Testifying in Court | |
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| Critiquing Evaluations | |
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| Conclusions | |
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| Special Needs for Children | |
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| Substance Abuse Issues | |
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| Sexual Abuse Allegations | |
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| Longitudinal Evaluations | |
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| Conclusions | |
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| Appendices | |
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| Sample Court Order | |
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| Sample Informed Consent and Retainer Agreement | |
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| Sample Intake Form | |
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| Sample Listing of Questions for Parents | |
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| Sample Listing of Questions for Children | |
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| Sample Alienation Analysis and Recommendation | |
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| Sample Relocaiton Analysis and Recommendation | |
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| References | |
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| About the Author | |