Custody Evaluations: A Comprehensive Guide

• To determine the best interests of the child and a good fit for the family.
• Can be used informally by parents to aid in their amicable decisions regarding custody and visitation.
• Can be used in court proceedings.

PARENTING PLAN ASSISTANCE/MEDIATION
We provide assistance to help parties reach decisions on the various issues involved in parenting plans and custody arrangements. Some families are amicable enough that with a little assistance of an expert they can avoid court and come to a decision on the custody schedule, and even some parents in a high-conflict divorce with very differing opinions about the custody schedule have been able to utilize this format to come to agreement. We can assist you with the parenting plan, that is, making decisions about arrangements as to where the child will live, visitation, etc., by working with you in making informed decisions based on the best interests of the child and the unique needs of your family. We facilitate healthy and effective communication between parties, and help them stay child-focused and envision what schedule would work best for the children. We will also give you our verbal expert opinion as to arrangements that might work best based on our knowledge custody schedules and your descriptions of your child and family; however, of course you make the final decisions that are then written into the divorce or separation agreement.

CUSTODY & VISITATION EVALUATIONS
Some couples decide voluntarily (i.e. consent) they want an evaluation to help determine what is in the best interests of the child regarding the custody schedule, and for others the court orders a custody evaluation. Psychologists who are knowledgeable in the areas of child development, family relationships, and custody can be very helpful to parents in deciding what might be the best parenting plan for their child. The evaluator looks at the child’s psychosocial needs, which are related to developmental age and the unique personality and temperament of the child, then looks at each parent’s strengths in meeting that child’s needs and at the unique needs of the family as a whole, and also considers how well the social environments of each parent (school, neighborhood, social supports, community, etc.) meet the current needs of the child. The evaluator factors in empirical data on psychosocial needs and on various custody and visitation arrangements at different ages. Psychological testing is conducted of all family members: (1) to provide information on the parents’ mental health functioning, any mental health diagnoses, and how mental health impacts their parenting, as well any stress in parenting; and (2) to provide information on the child’s mental health functioning and how that might relate to their custody needs. Additional testing is added based on issues specific to each case, such as substance abuse, anger management, trauma, abuse, etc. This comprehensive evaluation includes: diagnostic and history interviews with all family members (parents and children); parenting interviews with both parents; psychological testing of all family members (parents and children); parent-child observations of all parent-child dyads; collateral contacts with professionals such as therapists, teachers, etc. as well as non-professionals such as friends or family; and review of all relevant records for at least the past five years. Results provide in-depth information on the psychological functioning of all family members and parenting abilities and functioning.

With that the evaluator generates an opinion as to what would likely be the best custody and visitation arrangement possibilities at this time. The evaluator provides a wealth of information and a professional opinion but does not make the final decision. The parents may utilize the expert opinion provided by the evaluator and make the final decision, and the parenting plan agreement is then written into the divorce or separation agreement. Or, if the parents cannot come to an agreement, the written report can be used in court, where the judge will make the decision. We will also be deposed by both lawyers should the case proceed to court and will appear in court if necessary. (We encourage people to utilize the information to come to their own agreement whenever possible.)

GUARDIAN AD LITEM (GAL) REPORTS
A GAL is a court-appointed advisor who may be appointed to represent the child’s best interests in custody proceedings. The GAL makes recommendations regarding any issues affecting the child(ren)’s welfare. Notably, unlike the other types of evaluations explained on this webpage which are all done by psychologists, a GAL can have any of these degrees: masters or doctorate degree in psychology, social work, counseling, medicine or related degree(s). A GAL Report is less through than a custody evaluation, yet can still provide valuable information. A GAL Report includes: history interviews with all family members (parents and children); collateral contacts with professionals such as therapists, teachers, etc. as well as non-professionals such as friends or family; and review of all relevant records for at least the past five years. With that the GAL generates an opinion as to what would likely be the best custody and visitation arrangement possibilities at this time.

OTHER EVALUATIONS FOR USE IN DETERMINING CUSTODY
There are times when instead of evaluating the whole family, we may be asked to evaluate just one of the parents. Occasionally but less often we may be asked to evaluate just a child. For example, if the other party won’t agree to a custody evaluation and the court won’t order one, and/or you want to showcase that you have good mental health and parenting abilities, you can proactively choose to have yourself evaluated. Conversely, if there are only possible mental health concerns regarding one parent, that parent may agree to be evaluated or the court may order an evaluation of one parent. In these evaluations we can provide information on one parent’s mental health functioning and/or parenting abilities, but we cannot provide recommendations for a specific custody schedule as we have not evaluated the whole family.

A Psychological Evaluation of one parent provides information on that person’s mental health functioning, such as if they meet criteria for diagnosis of any psychological disorder, and if so how that impacts their daily functioning. Inferences can be made by the reader then, such as the judge, as to how this might affect the person’s parenting, but this is not an evaluation of parenting abilities. A Psychological Evaluation includes a diagnostic and history interview with the parent, psychological testing of the parent, and collateral contacts and records review. If abuse of alcohol, illicit drugs, or misuse of prescription medication is a concern, the psych eval can include a Substance Abuse Evaluation. Given substance abuse is a DSM mental health disorder, all psych evals should screen for this, but you should be sure to mention substances specifically to your evaluator if they are a concern.

If you want mental health functioning and parenting abilities assessed, you would use a Parental Capacity Evaluation. You can think of this as ‘half’ of a custody evaluation as we are only assessing one parent. A Parental Capacity Evaluation includes diagnostic, history and parenting interview with the parent, an interview with the child if the child is old enough, psychological testing of the parent, parent-child observation, and collateral contacts and records review. Results provide in-depth information on the parent’s psychological functioning and parenting abilities and functioning. Note a Parental Capacity Evaluation is not in any way an evaluation of the child, and the child is not the client. The child is involved to add context to assessing parenting abilities by an interview with the child as a first-hand reporter of the parent-child relationship, and by observing the parent with the child.

Occasionally a Child Psychological or Psycho-Educational Evaluation may be requested or ordered. This occurs most often when parents disagree on if a child has a specific condition, such as AD/HD or autism, and that information is needed to assist in coming to an agreement as to care for the child. When there are concerns that one or both parents are negatively impacting the child’s functioning, the Child Psychological evaluation specifically looks at the Effect of Parenting on Child Functioning. This may involve concerns about the child’s behavior such as aggression, misbehaving, etc., or concerns about parental alienation. There may also be concerns that the parent’s behavior is impacting the development or maintenance of a mental health (depression, anxiety), eating, or substance abuse disorder. The evaluation includes a clinical interview and psychological testing with the child, clinical interview with the parents, observations with the child and each parent, and necessary collateral contacts and review of records.

FULL-SERVICE TESTING FACILITY & A HIGHLY TRAINED TEAM OF EXPERTS
The breadth of specialty areas of our Associates makes us truly a full-service evaluation site. We can perform in-depth psychological testing, educational testing, substance abuse testing, trauma and abuse assessments, etc. Thus, regarding just about any issue raised in a custody case, we have experts who can address the issue. Having such a broad range of experts in-house allows the evaluation process to flow smoothly, and results in a comprehensive custody evaluation service. We believe in and utilize a team approach to custody evaluations and are one of the only group practices in the area with the resources to provide a comprehensive team. Utilizing a team provides the highest quality evaluation and makes turn-around time for completion of the report excellent and far quicker than most. Importantly, we do not charge any more for these evaluations than others do locally for a single-evaluator report; we use a flat fee that remains the same regardless of the number of psychologists assigned to a case. Thus, you get more minds on the case and the expertise of multiple professionals without paying more. Also importantly, our team consists only of psychologists, and not lower level professionals sometimes used at other practices to complete interviews or psychological testing.

It would surprise many attorneys and parents to learn that the forensic expert doing your custody evaluation is not a child psychologist, or that the child psychologist doing your custody evaluation has no forensic training, yet that is often the case. The majority of psychology degree programs teach adult psychology, and one must choose to add a child psychology track and/or seek out being trained as a child psychologist in practicum, internship or post doc training experiences. So, the vast majority of psychologists graduate educated and trained only in adult psychology. One possible screening question would be to ask if the psychologist currently or has ever done play therapy with pre-teen children as a regular part of their practice. Generally, the answer would be no because it would be unethical to do so since children are outside of their area of expertise. Forensic training is just as rare, and the clinician must again seek out coursework and training experiences in forensic psychology. A simple question about forensic training can elicit this information.

At Lepage Associates, we believe that (1) if you are going to be evaluating what is in the best interests of children, you ought to be a child psychologist, and (2) if you are going to be providing evaluations for the court, you ought to be trained in forensic evaluation. All of our lead evaluators meet these important standards. We stay abreast of the most recent research data as it applies to custody considerations. We stay current on all literature related to parenting plan schedules and the pros and cons of various schedules for various age groups.

• Expertise of Dr. Tina Lepage:
• Expertise of Dr. Colleen Hamilton:
• Expertise of Dr. Lindsey Ohler:
• Summary of Clinical Experience of the Lepage Associates Team