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Section 15 / Child Custody and Access Assessments:
A Child Custody and Access assessment is an investigation to determine the best parenting arrangements for children whose parents cannot agree on custody and access. An assessment is usually ordered by the Court when parents are unable to agree on parenting arrangements by themselves or through negotiation and mediation or if they are living apart or separating and are unable to agree on who should have custody of their children or on the degree of contact the children should have with each parent. When conducting the assessment, it is important that any procedure used with one parent or parenting figure is also used with the other parent or parenting figure. Qualified individuals conducting these assessments must also ensure that a fair, complete, balanced and parallel procedure is used.
A “best practices” process has determined custody and Access Assessment Guidelines and as such, psychologists are required to follow an assessment procedure known as multi-trait – multi-method assessment. This involves using a variety of assessment techniques including interviewing individuals, observing the children and parents, psychological testing, gathering collateral information, and considering any other information deemed to be relevant to the assessment process. The following guidelines apply only to assessments conducted by Dr. Larry Waterman. Assessments conducted by other psychologists or counsellors may vary.
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Each parent is interviewed individually to obtain clinical histories and other information relevant to the assessment.
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The child/children, if of an appropriate age are interviewed on one or more occasions depending on how well they respond to the questions during the initial interview and how much information they provide. Indirect questioning and other appropriate methods of gathering information from the child/children are used.
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The children are observed with each parent to evaluate the relationship between the children and the parents. Usually, this can be accomplished in one session but sometimes more sessions may be required.
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Collateral information is obtained from a variety of sources such as parenting references; family physician(s); other professionals who have been involved; the children’s teachers or daycare provider and from other relevant sources as necessary.
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All relevant legal information concerning the custody and access dispute is reviewed.
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Parents and their new partners (if applicable) are administered formal psychological tests to gather further information about their psychological functioning.
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If sexual abuse or other abuse or neglect allegations are involved, additional information may be gathered from the RCMP, Ministry for Children and Family development and other relevant sources. Sometimes, sexual abuse allegations may have to be assessed by a second professional.
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This process involves approximately thirty to forty hours. The hourly rate for Custody and Access Assessments is $220.00 per hour and an $8,000.00 retainer is required prior to beginning the assessment. The balance of the assessment cost must be paid prior to the release of the report.
Section 15 Child Custody and Access Assessment Procedures:
Outlined below is a sample of the procedure associated with the preparation of a Section 15 / Child Custody and Access Assessment and Report. The reader is advised that this outline represents a basic assessment process. Please note that the time for preparing Parenting Capacity Assessments and Views of the Child Assessments will vary somewhat depending on the amount of information that needs to be reviewed and prepared. Generally, these types of assessments and reports take less time, therefore are less costly.
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Review Legal Documents: |
1 - 6 hours |
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Interview Parents: Mother |
2 - 4 hours |
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Interview Parents: Father |
2 - 4 hours |
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Home Assessment of Child/Children with Mother: |
2.0 hours |
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Home Assessment of Child/Children with Father: |
2.0 hours |
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Psychological Testing: Mother |
2 - 3 hours |
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Psychological Testing: Father |
2 - 3 hours |
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Review Parenting/Other Reference Forms for Mother: |
1.5 hours |
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Review Parenting/Other Reference Forms for Father: |
1.5 hours |
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Interview Collaterals: (Teachers, Counsellors, Physicians) |
1 - 4 hours |
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Correspondence During Assessment: (e-mails, fax, letters, etc.) |
1 - 2 hours |
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Report Preparation: |
20 – 30 hours |
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Estimated Total Hours: |
37 - 63 hours |
Variables that may increase the time (and costs) to prepare the Custody and Access Report include:
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More legal documents to review than anticipated;
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Review of other documents and information not included in the example above (i.e. emails);
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Interview and psychological testing of new partner(s) of children’s parents;
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Interviews with other family members or individuals who have important information;
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Additional individuals (not mentioned above) to be interviewed by telephone or in person;
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Travelling outside of Nanaimo (time plus vehicle costs, meals, ferries, flights and accommodation);
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Other variables not included in the above list.
Please note that in addition to the extra costs generated by including these extra variables in the assessment process, there is also extra time required to dictate on the additional information obtained. It is not possible to give a firm estimate of the costs associated with a Section 15/Custody and Access and Report based on an hourly rate. A retainer (usually shared by each parent) is needed before we can begin an assessment, unless alternative arrangements are made. Payment in full is required before the report can be released.
Parenting Capacity Assessments:
The essential focus of Parenting Capacity Assessments is to determine whether or not the parent is able to safely parent the child/children and on evaluating the fit between parenting ability and the psychological and developmental needs of the child/children. If not, the assessor must determine the interventions that might be used to assist the parent in obtaining the necessary skills or consider whether a limitation of parental rights is an appropriate direction. The assessment should also determine if the parent is able to provide a safe, stable and predictable environment that will support the child/children in their physical, cognitive, social and psychological development.
As with Child Custody and Access Assessments, it is important that a complete assessment procedure is used when conducting the assessment. It must be ensured that the procedure is fair, balanced and thorough. The assessor must provide an assessment report that is complete with regard to relevant and substantial facts. Conclusions and recommendations should be based upon multi-method, multi-trait assessment procedures.
Differences between Parenting Capacity Assessments and Child Custody Assessments:
It may not be necessary to include a complete clinical history of the parent(s) being assessed. However, it is expected that the assessor will outline specific strengths and weaknesses for each parental individual assessed based on reviewed information from files, legal and other documents, and information from the potential parent as well as other sources.
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It is not necessary to summarize the file information and information from legal and other documents before the Court. However, it is expected that significant documents such as Risk Assessments will be listed.
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When assessing one biological parent/parent figure, it is not necessary to interview the other biological parent/parent figure unless such a person has information relevant to the person being assessed.
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It is expected that the referral agent (e.g. Ministry for Children and Family Development, etc.) will provide a list of specific questions that it wants addressed. The assessor is not required to provide any recommendations beyond responding to the questions raised by the referring agent. However, if the assessor identifies an area or concern that is considered significant, he/she is expected to clarify the importance of that area within the assessment process.
Views of the Child Assessments:
Views of the Child assessments are conducted when it is considered important to provide the child/children’s perspective to the Court. Parents can request the Court to order a “Views of the Child” assessment or the assessment can be done by mutual consent of the parents, thereby eliminating the need for a Court Order.
The purpose of conducting such an assessment is to obtain the child/children’s opinions on specific issues such as their parent’s residence, school, their views on access, and other relevant information and to determine whether or not the child/children have reached these opinions on their own. The assessment does not provide recommendations as it is only intended to clarify the child/children’s opinions and feelings about issues affecting them.
Views of the Child assessments typically involve interviewing each parent and then interviewing the child/children. Each parent is asked to bring the child/children to an interview to guard against either parent influencing the child/children’s views. When conducting these assessments, it is anticipated that the child/children will not require any formal psychological assessment. If, however, certain areas are identified which may have an impact on the child/children’s opinion (e.g. concerns about cognitive development, head injury, etc.), psychological testing may be recommended to provide information relevant to that aspect.
The process takes approximately six hours and a report is prepared. Parents typically use the report to help reach a settlement without having to go to Court and becoming involved in an expensive trial. |
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