Models and methods of cost‐effective child custody evaluation

• Published date: 01 October 2023
• Author: Aaron Robb
• Date: 01 October 2023
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/fcre.12755

SPECIAL ISSUE ARTICLE

Models and methods of cost-effective child

custody evaluation

Aaron Robb

Forensic Counseling Services, Frisco, Texas, USA

Correspondence

Aaron Robb, Forensic Counseling Services,

2831 Eldorado Parkway, Suite 103-377,

Frisco, TX 75033, USA.

Email: aaron@texascounseling.org

Abstract

Child custody evaluations (CCEs) are often seen as a

necessity by the legal system when caregivers cannot find

a resolution to their child custody disputes. In many

instances, these evaluations are quite costly for the

litigants and cost can act as a barrier to equal access to

justice. Affluent families are better able to access private

evaluators while families with lesser means may encoun-

ter delays in receiving services or be unable to afford an

evaluation at all. This can, in turn, prolong resolution of

league disputes, increasing the emotional toll on families,

and hamper courts in making decisions in the best inter-

ests of the children involved. This article examines models

of providing CCEs outside of an isolated individual

provider private practice format. It examines the benefits

and considerations for lower-cost evaluations, while

discussing how to maintain high quality services that

adequately assess family systems. Broader issues that

impact the courts and overall access to justice through

offering cost effective evaluations are also discussed.

Author's Note: This paper is based in part on contributions from Andrea Jones, MSW while we worked together as part of an AFCC committee, during a

time when she served as the Provincial Manager of the Ontario Office of the Children's Lawyer. I want to greatly thank Andrea for her assistance with this

paper and the additional perspectives she has provided.

Special thanks to Angela Igrisan, The Honorable Philip Marcus, Anthony Neugebauer, Deborah Patterson, David Simpson, and Gabriel Villanueva for

providing detailed information regarding various programs. Summaries of that information in this paper likely omits some nuance and the reader is

encouraged to seek out more in-depth programmatic information than can be covered in this short journal article. Thanks also to the editors of this special

issue for feedback and important examples discussed inthis paper.

DOI: 10.1111/fcre.12755

© 2023 Association of Family and Conciliation Courts.

Family Court Rev. 2023;61:703–718. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/fcre 703

KEYWORDS

child custody evaluation, cost, court management, efficiency, equal

access to justice, evaluation methodology, evaluation models,

procedural quality

Key points for the family court community

•Creating just and equitable processes is a key guiding

principle in the AFCC Guidelines, along with balancing

thoroughness with the avoidance of unintended harm,

and informed practice that incorporates the best avail-

able social sciences.

•Using different models to address local needs, many

evaluators and agencies provide cost-effective Child

Custody Evaluations to their communities while follow-

ing the AFCC Guidelines.

•Addressing easily foreseen issues can improve efficiency

and affordability of Child Custody Evaluations in

communities.

•More elaborate evaluations are not necessarily better

and can lead to unnecessary time and costs for litigants.

•Various training approaches with child custody evalua-

tors can increase availability of services for families and

reduce costs of entry for evaluators to the field.

•All family court professionals–evaluators, attorneys, and

judges–must actively work together to ensure access to

justice for families needing evaluation services.

In June 2022 the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts (AFCC) released the Guidelines for Parenting Plan

Evaluations in Family Law Cases (Guidelines) (AFCC, 2022) updating and replacing the 2006 Model Standards of

Practice for Child Custody Evaluation (Model Standards) (AFCC, 2007). These Guidelines reflect basic practices for eval-

uations where parents are disputing legal and physical care of their children (known in various jurisdictions as Child

Custody Evaluations [National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws, 1997], Parenting Plan Evalua-

tions, and the like) along with guiding principles and values behind the Guidelines. Creating just and equitable pro-

cesses is a key guiding principle in the Guidelines, along with balancing thoroughness with the avoidance of

unintended harm, and informed practice that incorporates the best available social sciences (AFCC, 2022). While at

first glance these might appear to be competing goals, it is possible to conduct evaluations in such a way that most,

if not all, families can receive good, quality assessments when the court determines that examination by a knowl-

edgeable, neutral third party would help determine the best interests of the children before it. There is a growing

concern over the cost of evaluations, the impact of cost in reducing the availability of evaluations to low- and

moderate-income families, and the social implications of different justice systems for the affluent verses the rest of

society. This paper outlines steps, both at a macro practice level and at the individual practitioner level, that can be

704 FAMILY COURT REVIEW