Parenting Plan Evaluations: An Evidence-Informed Approach to Child Custody

Unlock the science behind child custody evaluations.

Psychologists today play a crucial role in providing court assessments for child custody cases. But, gone are the days of relying solely on clinical judgment—courts now demand a more scientific approach.

This guide offers an evidence-informed framework for conducting child custody evaluations. It reviews critical components such as forensic interviewing, parent-child observation, document review, and accounting for one’s own personal biases. The authors explore the strengths and limitations of psychological testing and assessment, and demonstrate how custody evaluations require a dimensional approach that emphasizes behaviors over diagnoses. Extensive research is synthesized on all these critical topics, as well as more specific issues such as alienation, parent-child contact problems, domestic violence, and parental relocation requests.

Whether you're a seasoned professional or new to the field, this book is an indispensable resource for conducting scientifically sound, legally defensible evaluations.

Table of Contents:
Introduction: The Forensic Explorer
Part I. Conceptual Foundation for an Evidence-Informed Approach to Parenting Plan Evaluation
Chapter 1. Daubert and the Changing Nature of Parenting Plan Evaluations: From Clinical to Forensic
Chapter 2. Current Expectations and Criticisms of Parenting Plan Evaluations
Chapter 3. Common Errors in Child Custody Evaluations
Chapter 4. The Role of Clinical Judgment in the Time of Daubert
Part II. Using Scientific Knowledge and Process
Chapter 5. What Qualifies as Scientific Evidence in Parenting Plan Evaluations?
Chapter 6. Applying General Scientific Findings to Individual Cases: The G2i Challenge
Part III. Mitigating Bias in Your Evaluation
Chapter 7. The Role of Bias in Data Collection, Data Integration, and Opinion Formation
Chapter 8. Sociocultural Identities and Systemic Inequities
Chapter 9. Gender Identity and Sexual Orientation
Part IV. Data Collection and Integration
Chapter 10. Using Story Development Principles to Guide Data Collection and Integration
Chapter 11. Procedural Variables in Forensic Interviewing
Chapter 12. What to Ask About in Forensic Interviews
Chapter 13. Special Considerations for Interviewing Young Children
Chapter 14. Parent-Child Observation
Chapter 15. Usefulness and Limitations of Psychological Testing and Assessment
Chapter 16. Selecting and Using Psychological Tests
Chapter 17. The Shift from Categorical to Dimensional Diagnostic Models
Chapter 18. Collateral Interviews and Record Review
Part V. Common Issues in Parenting Plan Evaluation
Chapter 19. Early Conceptualizations of Parent-Child Contact Problems
Chapter 20. Modern Conceptualizations of Parent-Child Contact Problems
Chapter 21. Evolving Conceptualizations of Domestic Violence
Chapter 22. Tools to Assess for Domestic Violence
Chapter 23. Forensic Assessment of Parental Requests to Relocate
Epilogue: The Integration of Judgment, Data, and Science in Custody Evaluation
References

About the Author :

Jonathan W. Gould, PhD, is a board-certified forensic psychologist specializing in psychological aspects of family law matters, including child custody and child maltreatment. He has authored or coauthored seven books and several dozen peer-reviewed articles and book chapters addressing child custody matters. He has presented at national and international conferences to mental health professionals, attorneys, and judges for more than three decades. This book represents an update and conceptual extension of his previous books, Conducting Scientifically Crafted Child Custody Evaluations and The Art and Science of Child Custody Evaluations (with David Martindale).

Christopher M. Mulchay, PhD, ABPP, is the coauthor of The Family Law Professional's Field Guide to High-Conflict Litigation: Dynamics, Not Diagnoses. With Jonathan Gould, Dr. Mulchay has coauthored chapters on child custody in both The Oxford Handbook of Psychology and Law (2023) and APA Handbook of Forensic Psychology (2025). Dr. Mulchay has also reviewed tests for the Journal of Pediatric Neuropsychology. He has published four test reviews, and he has multiple currently under review. Dr. Mulchay is board-certified in forensic psychology by the American Board of Professional Psychology. He is a fellow in the American Academy of Forensic Psychologists.