Child custody consultation in abuse and neglect: A practical guide

Heller,; Ap, Derdeyn

doi:10.1007/bf01433480

Cited by 4 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…Heller and Derdyn (1979) make the same point: 'If obvious mental illness is present in either parent, one must assess whether or not this directly influences the parent's ability to care for the child. Children may also be deeply attached to parents with impoverished or unstable personalities and may progress emotionally within this relationship on the basis of mutual attachment'.…”

Section: Psychiatric Evidence and Parental Competencementioning

confidence: 99%

Psychiatry and Family Law in Western Australia

Quadrio¹

1981

Aust N Z J Psychiatry

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Section: Psychiatric Evidence and Parental Competencementioning

confidence: 99%

Psychiatry and Family Law in Western Australia

Quadrio¹

1981

Aust N Z J Psychiatry

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“…This three-pronged statement works well since abusive parents tend to see themselves as trying to provide for the child but at the same time being up against insurmountable obstacles in that effort. Heller and Derdeyn ( 1979) have helped mental health workers understand their role under the law, which leads to the realization that the school is not called upon to make decisions regarding custody or parental fitness.…”

Section: Talking With the Parentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Another consideration is honesty and frankness, especially concerning issues of confidentiality (CEC, 1979;Heller & Derdeyn, 1979). If the educator plans to report proceedings of the parent conference to the court or social services, this should be explained to the parents early in the conference, to avoid future unpleasantries.…”

Section: Talking With the Parentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…During the investigation, the juvenile probation office may be called upon to determine whether or not the case must go to court. Not all abuse and neglect cases go to court, but unfamiliarity with court proceedings may certainly be a factor in preventing professionals from filing reports (Heller & Derdeyn, 1979).…”

Section: Investigationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Given the child's hesitancy to discuss the home situation, Heller and Derdeyn ( 1979) have advised mental health workers to use observation, free play, and games along with structured interviews. Some children who are unwilling to describe abusive events in detail may, through play, be able to communicate their feelings regarding parents and perceptions of the family's home life.…”

Section: Talking With the Childmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Child Abuse and the Educator

Rose¹

2018

Exceptional

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The Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (PL 93-247) was signed into law on January 31, 1974. This legislation established the National Center on Child Abuse and Neglect (NCCAN) within the Children's Bureau of the Office of Child Development of the Department of Health, Education and Welfare. The law also mandated that the states develop policies and procedures for the effective reporting, investigation, and follow-up of child abuse and neglect cases. To date, at least 43 of the 50 states have mandated that teachers be included among the list of professionals required to report suspected cases of child abuse and neglect (Council for Exceptional Children, 1979).Although PL 93-247 requires that states develop child abuse and neglect policies and procedures, the development process itself is the responsibility of each individual state. In effect, this means that definitions, agencies involved, private professional participation, and legal procedures vary from state to state. The resulting confusion is only slightly resolved by a search of professional literature on child abuse, since that literature is replete with its own set of varying definitions and incidence figures.Teachers faced with the required reporting law are justified in asking how and to whom they are to report suspected cases, and at what point a suspicion becomes a reportable concern. Furthermore, teachers, unlike many other professionals who are required to report, are in the unique position of being in continuous contact with the abused child and his or her family before, during, and after the report has been filed. Therefore, the after-effects of the reporting process ( the investigation and treatment phases) are also of particular interest to the teacher.Since each school district has its own unique school population and accompanying circumstances, the information presented here is not intended to be used as a model for developing policies and procedures for handling suspected and known cases of child abuse and neglect in the schools. Rather, it is intended as a resource for use in the development of such a model.

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Custody evaluations: A critical review.

Karras¹,

Berry²

1985

Professional Psychology: Research and Practice

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Mental health professionals have become involved in child custody litigation by serving as custody evaluators. This article, which gives specific attention to the roles of custody evaluators and the method and content of evaluations, proposes that mental health professionals serve as strictly impartial evaluators. Ethical dilemmas associated with the professional as eualuator and the limitations of evaluative conclusions due to the paucity of research on custody arrangements is also discussed.Increasingly, mental health professionals are being asked to assist in the settlement of contested child custody disputes. Two factors are responsible for this growing demand. First, with the nation's divorce rate increasing, judges are able to make custody decisions more expeditiously if they rely on mental health professionals as custody evaluators. Second, judges are readily acknowledging that their area of expertise does not equip them to determine which social, psychological, and physical conditions are necessary for adequate child development. The expertise of those knowledgeable about mental health issues can be invaluable to judges who must make custody decisions that are in the child's best interests (Derdeyn, 1983).Acting as custody evaluator, the mental health professional seeks information that can help the judge determine which custody arrangement will serve the best interests of the child. After a series of family interviews, evaluators write a formal report, which is presented to the court. Description of family member relationships, interactions, and each member's psychological adjustment is often included in this report. In addition, most evaluators customarily make a specific custody arrangement recommendation. It is at this stage that the custody evaluator's role changes from one of diagnostician to quasi decision maker.There has been a growing body of literature on custody evaluation. The articles and books published during the past decade range from the "how to ..." types of work to a limited amount of research into the issues and variables involved in custody cases.Concomitantly, several ethical issues have arisen due to the increasing interest, demand, and monetary rewards associated with custody evaluations. In this article, the role of the evaluator and the method and content of the custody evaluation are examined.In addition, the ethical dilemmas involved are discussed, and some recommendations are made.

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Child custody consultation in abuse and neglect: A practical guide

Cited by 4 publications

References 6 publications

Psychiatry and Family Law in Western Australia

Psychiatry and Family Law in Western Australia

Child Abuse and the Educator

Custody evaluations: A critical review.

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