Complex Issues in Child Custody Evaluations

This text is excellent and very timely. Philip Michael Stahl′s second volume is the perfect supplement to his Conducting Child Custody Evaluations because it deals with specific issues of great concern to evaluators: parental alienation, allegations of sexual abuse, domestic violence, move-away situations, and high conflict families. The chapter dealing with child considerations is also very well done. His discussion of developmental considerations is clear and supported by the latest research in the field. I also liked his treatment of children′s reaction to parental conflict, weighing the needs of the individual child with the needs of the sibling group, and giving the child a voice while protecting their privacy. I also appreciated his discussion of components of the evaluator′s recommendation, use of psychological testing, Rosemary Vasquez′s discussion of cultural issues, tackling the terror of testifying and ethical issues. Phil Stahl has written a very important text. It is timely, well written, and comprehensive. Nice work!!! --Hugh McIsaac, Oregon Family Institute When performing a custody evaluation, how do professionals deal with the issue of domestic violence? What impact does one parent′s moving away have on the evaluation? How should an evaluator handle high-conflict divorces? Over the past five to ten years, there has been a significant increase in the use of child custody evaluations by the courts. At the same time, the issues have become more complex and difficult. In this book, the author provides a theoretical and practical understanding of many of the factors that make custody evaluations complex. A key component is the integration of disparate research findings into a comprehensive resource that will enable the evaluator and the court to understand these complex issues. A second component is to provide a thorough understanding of the fact that divorce brings with it a set of complex needs, and evaluators and the courts must develop a paradigm for weighing these needs in a comprehensive manner. This book provides that paradigm.

Table of Contents:
Introduction PART ONE Alienation and Alignment of Children Domestic Violence Allegations of Sexual Abuse Evaluations Move-Away Evaluations PART TWO Issues with High-Conflict Families Child Considerations in Custody Recommendations The Components of the Evaluator′s Recommendations PART THREE Use of Psychological Testing in Custody Evaluations Cultural Issues in Evaluations Tackling the Terror of Testifying Ethical Issues

About the Author :
Philip Stahl, PhD, ABPP (Forensic), is a psychologist in private practice that conducts child custody evaluations and provides expert witness testimony. He is a provider of continuing education for psychologists and other mental health providers, and attorneys and Family Law Specialists in California. He has conducted trainings throughout the United States and internationally for child custody evaluators and others working with high-conflict families of divorce. He has presented workshops for judges throughout the country and is on the faculty of National Judicial College and is a frequent presenter at programs of the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges. As a Board member of the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts, he was on the task force that drafted AFCC’s “Model Standards of Practice for Child Custody Evaluation”. He was a member of the American Bar Association Wingspread Task Force on High Conflict Families. Dr. Stahl is on the Editorial Review Board of AFCC’s journal, Family Court Review and the Journal of Child Custody. Along with his teaching, Dr. Stahl has written extensively on various issues in high-conflict divorce and custody evaluations. His previous books have been Conducting Child Custody Evaluations: A Comprehensive Guide, Complex Issues in Custody Evaluations, and Parenting After Divorce, 2nd Edition, and he is the co-editor of Relocation Issues in Child Custody Cases. His child custody evaluation was cited by the California Supreme Court in its landmark decision modifying 8 years of relocation case law in 1994 (In re Marriage of LaMusga 32 Cal.4th 1072, 12 Cal.Rptr.3d 356, 88 P.3d 81). Most recently, Dr. Stahl was on the workgroup appointed by the Arizona Supreme Court that re-wrote Arizona’s “Planning for Parenting Time” (2010). When he has free time, Dr. Stahl enjoys traveling, playing golf, and relaxing with family and friends.