The Future of Custody in California Family Law Courts
| Publication year | 2020 |
| Author | Diane Wasznicky |
Diane Wasznicky
Diane E. Wasznicky is a partner at Bartholomew & Wasznicky LLP in Sacramento, CA. She is co-founder and facilitator of the Sacramento Custody Discussion Group (1983 - 2008) and has served on the Senate Task Force on Family Relations Courts. She is active in a number of organizations, including serving as President of the Sacramento County Bar Association, President of Women Lawyers of Sacramento, President of the Association of Family Conciliation Courts (AFCC-CA), and President of the Association of Certified Family Law Specialists (ACFLS). She has served as an advisor to FlexCom since 2004. She also chairs the Legislation Committee of AFCC and currently serves as Treasurer of AFCC. She currently serves as a Coordinating Director for ACFLS.
No, this is not an article on the impact of Sanchez rulings in custody cases. This is about a more basic problem that frankly is impacting every California county.
Whether you practice in a county where recommendations on custody and parenting issues are allowed ("recommending" counties), or where they are not ("confidential" counties), there are always cases where the circumstances indicate a need for more in-depth assessment from qualified mental health professionals (MHPs) than any Family Court Services agencies can provide. What happens then in your county?
The court can order limited or full evaluations, assessments such as Private Child Custody Recommending Counseling ("CCRC") in recommending counties, Family Code section 3111 evaluations, section 3110 evaluations, and custody evaluations per Evidence Code section 730. Obviously, there is a cost aspect the parties must be able to bear but this article is not focused on that aspect primarily. What if there are no longer enough (or any?) qualified professionals who are available to avoid a three to five month wait to even start the assessment?
The reality in most counties is that the majority of those qualified MHPs with experience in such assessments, high-conflict co-parenting, parenting coordination, therapists for children in high-conflict custody cases or child patients estranged or alienated from a parent, or reunification therapists, are approaching retirement. Many of these professionals have retired, stopped doing family law work, or passed away.
Those remaining are overwhelmed with the demands for assistance from us on behalf of the parents and children we represent. That means they have...
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