Crossover Cases of High‐Conflict Families Involving Child Protection Services: Ontario Research Findings and Suggestions for Good Practices

• Date: 01 July 2017
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/fcre.12289
• Published date: 01 July 2017

CROSSOVER CASES OF HIGH-CONFLICT FAMILIES INVOLVING

CHILD PROTECTION SERVICES: ONTARIO RESEARCH FINDINGS

AND SUGGESTIONS FOR GOOD PRACTICES

Claire Houston, Nicholas Bala, and Michael Saini

Child protection services (CPS) are increasingly becoming involved in high-conflict separations and the related custody and

access proceedings. CPS involvement is often necessary to respond to abuse or neglect allegations or protect children from

emotional harm. However, these crossover cases are very challenging for family justice professionals. This article reports on

research on crossover cases in Ontario, including an analysis of reported court decisions, a survey of CPS staff, and interviews

with family justice professionals. We suggest clearer CPS policies; improved understanding of respective professional roles;

CPS summary reports for family courts; increased interagency coordination, communication, and training; and use of judicial

case management.

Key Points for the Family Court Community:

It is increasingly common for high-conflict separations to result in reports to child protection services (CPS) and for

concurrent custody and access and child protection proceedings to occur.

CPS reports often allege domestic violence, emotional abuse, and sexual abuse; a relatively high number of CPS

reports made in the context of high-conflict separations are unsubstantiated.

There is limited research on the effect of CPS intervention in high-conflict separations or best practices.

In some locales, CPS may be the only source of publicly funded social services for high-conflict families.

We suggest good practices for CPS and family justice professionals dealing with high-conflict separations.

Keywords: Child Abuse/Neglect and Domestic Violence Allegations; Child Protection Services; Concurrent Family and

Child Protection Proceedings; Custody and Access Disputes; Emotional Abuse of Children; and High-Conflict

Separations.

I. INTRODUCTION

Increasingly, child protection services (CPS) face the challenge of being involved in high-

conflict parental separations and the related custody and access proceedings. CPS may become

involved because one or both parents report allegations of abuse, emotional harm, or neglect by

the other parent (or a new partner) or when the police or a professional, such as a therapist

reports child protection concerns about children caught in the midst of parental conflict. Some of

these reports are substantiated, after CPS investigation, as cases where children clearly are in

need of protection and immediate CPS intervention is needed. However, many of the reports in

these cases (especially when made by one parent against the other) are not initially substantiated,

but the cases nevertheless raise protection concerns because of the risk of emotional harm to the

children due to high levels of parental conflict.

High-conflict separations involving allegations of violence, abuse, or neglect may cross over from

the family justice system to the child protection system (and often criminal justice system). They

may lead to concurrent custody and access and child protection (or criminal) proceedings. Adding to

the complexity of these cases, CPS workers or police may be witnesses or resources for the family

court process. Professionals may fail to appreciate the effects of overlapping, and sometimes incon-

sistent approaches of different agencies (or different professionals within agencies) and courts on

Correspondence: chouston@sjd.law.harvard.edu; michael.saini@utoronto.ca; bala@queensu.ca

FAMILY COURT REVIEW, Vol. 55 No. 3, July 2017 362–374

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C2017 Association of Family and Conciliation Courts