Partner Violence and Risk Assessment in Child Custody Evaluations

Abstract

How to integrate the problem of partner violence into a child custody evaluation is analyzed within a risk-assessment approach. The research literature on partner violence is reviewed to examine the issues of establishing a base rate for partner violence and its relative frequencies for both genders. Theoretical typologies of partner violence are reviewed and anew typology presentedthat is more suitable to the predictive task in the custody evaluation. A model of how the evaluator should approach partner violence is described, with an integration of a risk-assessment approach to child developmental outcomes as associated with custody and parenting time arrangements and aviolence risk assessment of a perpetratodparent. PROBLEM OF PARTNER VIOLENCE AND CHILD CUSTODYSpousal maltreatment and violence is a complex and contentious issue that sometimes arises in high-conflict child custody cases. Courts sometimes call on mental health professionals to assist the trier of fact in the decision-making process on child custody and parental access to children. The roles of custody evaluator, mediator/arbitrator, special advocate, special master, and guardian ad litem are occupied by mental health and legal practitioners in this assist role to the judge. The issue ofhow to address the problem of spousal maltreatment is extremely important in best interests of the child custody determinations (CCDs) because of the demonstrated negative effect on a child's welfare and development from exposure to and witnessing domestic violence (Jaffe & Gefher, 1998) and exposure to high conflict between parents (Johnston & Roseby, 1997). Although there are inconsistencies in the research on the behavioral effects on children, this may be due to methodological shortcomings, and it is generally assumed that there is potential for grave developmental effects due to exposure to family violence. When the methodology is improved and database enlarged from multiple sources, negative effects are consistent (Sternberg, Lamb, & Dawud-Noursi, 1998).Relatively little guidance is found in the forensic clinical methodology literature on how to integrate the problem of partner violence into a child custody evaluation (CCE) in which the fundamental task is to predict the child's long-term developmental outcomes associated with alternative environmental circumstances due to different custody and parent access arrangements (Austin, 2000a). Gould (1998) and Stahl(l999) provide general frameworks and address issues associated with domestic violence in the context of a CCE. This article attempts to provide a more specific structure for analyzing the partner violence factor in CCEs via arisk-assessment approach to making behavioral predictions in the forensic CCE.Jaffe and Geffner (1 998) reviewed the literature on the negative child effects of spousal violence. Their conclusions were that exposure to partner violence is likely to produce exag- gerated behaviors in children above those expected from children in divorcing families who experience high conflict betw...

Relocation, Research, and Forensic Evaluation: Part Ii: Research in Support of the Relocation Risk Assessment Model

“…Risk assessment is also a viable and efficient way to approach specialized topics that surface with child custody evaluation, where the evaluator needs to make a prediction of the likelihood of harm to the child. It is appropriate for issues of partner violence (Austin, 2001; Drozd & Olesen, 2004), substance abuse (Schleuderer & Campagna, 2004), and child sexual abuse (Kuehnle & Kirkpatrick, 2005). A fundamental task for forensic evaluators is to make predictions for the court concerning child outcomes.…”

“…It stands as a significant risk factor evaluators always want to consider. A separate risk and safety assessment is needed when this is an issue (Austin, 2001; Drozd & Olesen, 2004). If there is a more serious subtype of partner violence, and there are continuing residual pathological behaviors present (intimidation, harassment, stalking), then there is an argument for relocation in order to geographically shield the children and enhance parenting effectiveness by the custodial parent.…”

Evaluating Allegations of Child Sexual Abuse Within Complex Child Custody Cases

“…During a child custody evaluation with or without special issues, a child may also verbally communicate important information, such as family dynamics, sources of nurturance, and each family member's emotional and physical boundaries (e.g., does the child sleep with a parent; is sleeping with the parent associated with factors such as the trauma of divorce, enmeshment with a parent, or sexual abuse). This information from the child adds to what is learned from other sources of data in the evaluation process (i.e., incremental validity) and can provide an important source of validation (i.e., convergent validity) when the information provided by the child is consistent with the information obtained through other methods and sources (Austin, 2000(Austin, , 2001Kuehnle, Greenberg, & Gottlieb, 2004).…”

Safety First

“…Currently, there does not exist a validated risk assessment instrument for assessing domestic violence batterers. Austin (2001), 2 however, has proposed a multidimensional risk categorization system for custody evaluators conducting child custody evaluations with allegations of domestic violence. While Austin's risk factors are based on a review of the empirical literature, his conceptualized risk system is not a risk assessment instrument and should only be used by the custody evaluator to structure questions and direct data collection from primary and collateral sources.…”