Parents who cannot agree upon a custodial arrangement for their children might have to go through "forensics". Not every contested case has a forensic psychologist appointed. When parents could not agree, years ago it was commonplace to immediately have the judge appoint a neutral forensic psychologist whose job after doing the work described below would then be to write a report with a parenting and visitation recommendation. However, over the last decade or perhaps even a bit longer, judges have decided that not every case requires or needs forensics and that they do not want the forensic report to make a recommendation because the judge believes that the report should provide guidance and that the judge will make the determination and not the psychologist who has interviewed and met with the people but not taken testimony under oath in a courtroom. Further reports are not subject to cross-examination so that the conclusions can more properly be examined unless the psychologist testifies.
One general exception is that if there are allegations of a significant mental health issues, domestic violence, child abuse, or questions as to whether there is parental alienation then the court will often appoint a forensic psychologist as the issues may be affected by mental health, disease or addiction and the judge may benefit from the expert opinion regarding these conditions.
Once appointed the forensic psychologist will choose how to interview and review relevant documents related to each parent's custodial fitness as well as the preferences of the child and the reasons for such preferences. The psychologist may choose to initially meet with both parents to explain the process and to alleviate concerns that one parent "got in first". The psychologist may meet or speak with other non-parties such as grandparents, older children of the parents, significant others, the child's doctor, teacher or any other persons with direct knowledge of the children and the parents.
The psychologist will meet with each parent several times so that they can get a feel for the parent and also see how consistent their answers to similar questions are from one session to the next to root out deception. The forensic will meet with the children with each parent present as well as alone and dependent upon the age of the child without the parent. They will often arrange so that each parent transports the child to the interview to minimize or determine if there is inappropriate "prepping" by one parent of the child. For example, if a 5 year old says he/she would like an alternating weekend schedule that clearly was not the original thought of the child. If the child uses words or concepts that are not age appropriate or says things using the same words as the parent these are warning signs of improper influence.
The psychologist will likely utilize standardized testing of personality and mental health to aid in the evaluation process. While forensics will not rely entirely on such tests they can be revealing and guiding regarding underlying mental health problems and truthfulness. Such testing may lead to confirmation of the opinions developed during the interviews but may also reveal areas missed which can now be focused on during interviews.
The end product is often a detailed report of the individual parents, the child and how they function with each parent and how the parents are able to address the needs of their children and whether the parents will be supportive or destructive of the other parent's relationship with the child.
My next blog will provide some useful tips and insight into the forensic process.