Child Custody Evaluations Tool Under Fire
Divorces can be messy – potentially even more so when children are involved. Emotions run high and often cause rational thinking and behavior to be thrown out the window. Because of this, the court system has different “tools” to help it determine what is in the best interest of the children when custody is at stake.
One such tool is a child custody evaluation. These evaluations are typically conducted by a mental health provider who give the court a recommendation regarding where the children should live, parenting time, and basically an overall picture of the family dynamic as it relates to the custody case.
In theory, these evaluations should help both the parties involved and the court. However, a recent study seems to show otherwise.
In an article published in Court Review, Dr. Ira Daniel Turkat, a licensed psychologist and family law litigation specialist, conducted what he claims to be the first known quantitative study on the detrimental effects of child custody evaluations.
In his study, Turkat surveyed 101 people from 35 states who: 1- were divorced, 2- had participated in a custody evaluation by a psychologist, 3- gave details about the … Read More... “Child Custody Evaluations: Helpful or Harmful?”