Reporter's Foreword to “Guidelines for Examining Intimate Partner Violence: A Supplement to the AFCC Model Standards of Practice for Child Custody Evaluation”

• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/fcre.12255
• Date: 01 October 2016
• Published date: 01 October 2016
• Author: Nancy Ver Steegh

SPECIAL FEATURE

REPORTER’S FOREWORD TO “GUIDELINES FOR EXAMINING

INTIMATE PARTNER VIOLENCE: A SUPPLEMENT TO THE AFCC

MODEL STANDARDS OF PRACTICE FOR CHILD CUSTODY

EVALUATION”

Nancy Ver Steegh

Family law professionals shoulder significant responsibility when they undertake the process of

child custody evaluation. When intimate partner violence is an issue, the obligation is intensified by

the potential for harm, the high stakes for family well-being, and the increased complexity of the

evaluation process. Researchers have raised persistent concerns about the quality and consistency of

child custody evaluations conducted in the context of intimate partner violence,

1

and the ensuing

debate has raised awareness of the issues and generated helpful agendas for research, practice, and

training.

2

The Guidelines initiative recasts the inquiry from a focus on problematic practices to consider-

ation of ways that skilled evaluators promote positive outcomes for families in cases involving

intimate partner violence. The Guidelines respond to a bold question: how should evaluators

identify the occurrence of intimate partner violenceandexaminetheeffectsonchildrenandpar-

enting? Ascertaining and describing positive practice proved to be a daunting endeavor, one that

entailed equal measures of humility, audacity, and perseverance on the part of task force

members.

A COLLABORATIVE EFFORT

The Guidelines are the product of interdisciplinary cooperation. The task force was sponsored

by the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts (AFCC) in collaboration with the National

Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges, and in consultation with the Battered Women’s Jus-

tice Project. It is serendipitous that the Guidelines will be published a few months before the ten-

year anniversary of the Wingspread Conference on Domestic Violence and Family Courts,

3

which

also focused on better meeting the child-related needs of families experiencing intimate partner

violence. Central themes have been carried forward into the Guidelines, including the focus on

tailoring outcomes to meet the needs of children, adoption of a contextual approach to examining

intimate partner violence, emphasis on screening and nuanced assessment, and development of

shared terminology and vocabulary.

4

Correspondence: nancy.versteegh@mitchellhamline.edu

[Corrections added on 4 January 2017, after first online publication: The ‘Reporter’s foreword to “Guidelines for Examin-

ing Intimate Partner Violence: A Supplement to the AFCC Model Standards of Practice for Child Custody Evaluation” has

been separated from the “Guidelines for Examining Intimate Partner Violence: A Supplement to the AFCC Model Stand-

ards of Practice for Child Custody Evaluation”.]

FAMILY COURT REVIEW, Vol. 54 No. 4, October 2016 671–673

V

C2016 Association of Family and Conciliation Courts