Conducting A Child Custody Evaluation Virtually: Important Considerations
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Starting in early 2020, and continuing as this course is posted in July 2020, the world continues to combat a pandemic that has led to many changes in the operations of family law cases. Throughout the United States, courtrooms remain shut down, or partially operational, for all but essential hearings. Early on, many courts began holding virtual hearings, and judges, lawyers, and families were managing the changes, and the experiences were both positive and negative.
At the same time, the psychological community began to debate the reliability and practicality of conducting forensic assessments virtually. Though there have been many advisories and licensing board rules about conducting therapy via telehealth over the last several years, there have been no such advisories regarding forensic evaluations.
In listservs and various other venues, some have opined what can, and what cannot, be done virtually. This workshop will draw on the concepts of reliability, guidelines, Model Standards, and practicalities, and offer a way to think through conducting evaluations during these times, and perhaps into the future. For example, can an evaluator do adult or child interviews virtually? Are there risks? What are they? This workshop will identify an evaluation’s various components and offer participants a method to think through what will work for you, as your community reverts to more normalcy, though with social distancing and use of alternative evaluation methods.
This is an intermediate level workshop offering 2.0 hours of CE credits.
Course Goal and Objectives
At the conclusion of this workshop, participants will be able to:
- Assess the challenges of conducting custody evaluations in a virtual environment
- Apply informed consent practices to a virtual environment
- Use telehealth practice guidelines into one’s forensic practice
- Plan practice guidelines for one’s forensic practice
- Determine risks/benefits/strategies for each component of an evaluation
- Apply modifications to the style of recommendations, particularly due to limitations inherent in the virtual environment
Your access to the course material extends for 3-years from the date of purchase. This includes after passing the post-test, so you may continue to review its contents.