| The process of conducting child custody evaluations is one of the most frequently debated issues in the field of forensic mental health assessment. Numerous resources have been published regarding the appropriate way to conduct child custody evaluations. However, it is unclear whether these resources have had any effect on the methods used by child custody evaluators. This study examined current practices of child custody evaluators, as reflected in evaluation reports, as well as the extent to which the content of the evaluation reports adhered to a set of comprehensive forensic mental health assessment principles. One hundred forty-two child custody evaluation reports from three geographical regions (Los Angeles, Philadelphia, and Chicago) did not differ in overall principle adherence, but overall principle adherence did differ based on evaluator's educational degree of training. Adherence to individual principles also differed by geographic region and evaluator educational degree. |
