At the conclusion of the child custody evaluation process, the evaluator files a written report with the court. Because most cases settle without going to trial, the written report often represents the last and only word from the evaluator. He or she will never appear in court to clarify, explain, or justify the conclusions expressed in the report. The report can carry near decisive weight with some courts and is sometimes used to bludgeon the parties into a settlement. These dynamics make the written report a critical document, one with the potential to alter lives. One of the crucial missions that a well-constructed appointment order can accomplish is to require a clear and coherent report that can easily be reviewed and analyzed. This article will examine a number of specific provisions that can be placed in the appointment order to ensure that the report is written in a way that facilitates critical review.1
Identifying Sources
During the investigative stage of the custody evaluation, the forensic examiner typically gathers a substantial body of case-specific data. The information is derived from interviews with the parties, interviews with the children, observations of the parents and children interacting with one another, statements contained in medical, educational, and therapy records, third-party “collateral” interviews, and, in some cases, psychological testing. Upon completion of the forensic investigation, the evaluator must determine, based upon the scientific knowledge of the psychology discipline, what the gathered information means. The resulting conclusions, together with the underlying data upon which they are based, are then expressed in the written report.
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