AFCC 2022 Guidelines for Parenting Plan Evaluations in Family Law Cases

• Published date: 01 January 2023
• Date: 01 January 2023
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/fcre.12700

Family Court Rev. 2023;61:11–46 wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/fcre 11

Guidelines for Parenting Plan

Evaluations in Family Law Cases

Prepared by the AFCC Task Force for the Revisions of the

Model Standards for the Practice of Child Custody Evaluation

Tas k Fo rc e 1:

Arnold T. Shienvold, PhD, Chair and Kathleen McNamara, PhD, Reporter

Brian Burke, LLB; Maria Cognetti, JD; Frank Davis, PhD; April Harris-Britt, PhD;

Andrea Jones, MSW, RSW; Mary Lund, PhD; David Martindale, PhD, ABPP;

Aaron Robb, PhD; Leslie Ellen Shear, JD; Maureen Sheeran, BJ;

Hon. Herman Walker, Jr. and Jeffrey Wittmann, PhD

AFCC Staff: Peter Salem, MA, and Ann Ordway, JD, PhD

Approved by the AFCC Board of Directors on May 11, 2022

6525 Grand Teton Plaza, Madison, Wisconsin 53719

Phone (608) 664-3750 • Fax (608) 664-3751 • afcc@afccnet.org • www.afccnet.org

1 AFCC gratefully acknowledges the contributions of Hon. Liberty Aldrich to the early work on the

development of these guidelines and to Leslye Hunter, MA, for her early support of the task force.

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Contents

Foreword ........................................................................................................................... 5

Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 7

I.1 Purpose .................................................................................................................. 7

I.2 Enforcement .......................................................................................................... 7

I.3 Scope ..................................................................................................................... 7

I.4 Forensic Evaluation ............................................................................................... 8

Guiding Principles and Values .................................................................................... 8

A. Informed Practice................................................................................................... 8

B. Objectivity ............................................................................................................. 8

C. Just and Equitable Practice .................................................................................... 9

D. Transparency and Accountability ........................................................................... 9

E. Respect for Scope and Boundaries ......................................................................... 9

F. Balancing Thoroughness with Avoidance of Unintended Harm .............................. 9

Section 1: Education, Training, and Competence ................................................. 9

1.1 Evaluation as a Specialization ................................................................................ 9

1.2 Education and Training .......................................................................................... 9

1.3 Competence ......................................................................................................... 11

Section 2: Knowledge of the Law ............................................................................. 11

2.1 Sufficient Legal Knowledge ................................................................................. 11

2.2 Working within Legal Parameters ........................................................................ 12

2.3 Law, Legal System, and Family Court .................................................................. 12

Section 3: Multiple Relationships and Role Conflicts ........................................ 12

3.1 Definitions ........................................................................................................... 12

3.2 Avoiding Multiple Relationships and Roles.......................................................... 13

3.3 Disclosure of Potential Conflicts of Interest or Role Conflicts ............................. 13

3.4 Avoidance of Therapeutic Intervention During Evaluation ................................... 13

TASK FORCE 13