unit 7 assignment 1

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Capella University *

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6920

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Psychology

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Dec 6, 2023

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Running Header: Forensic Evaluation Draft 1 Forensic Evaluation Draft Kyerranie Ishmeal Psy6920: Techniques of Forensic Practice Scott Hudson 08/27/2023

Forensic Evaluation Draft 2 Introduction Court evaluations relating to families and making decisions on child custody prove to be one of the most complex aspects of forensic evaluation. This is attributable to the fact that the court has to make a decision on the welfare of a child while the parents are separating. Mental health professionals, therefore, utilize different evaluations to gain insight into the fitness of the parents in relation to enhancing the welfare of the children. Different tests are available and prove to be essential in formulating questions that give additional insight into parents’ ability and effectiveness in offering quality care to their children. This paper, therefore, strives to undertake a forensic evaluation of child custody involving a fictitious character to gain insight into the aspects of informed consent, questions, and battery tests that are applied by evaluators to ensure that the decision made by the court is well-informed. Legal Question Asked Determining the fitness of a parent in relation to child custody is essential in enhancing the welfare of the children involved. A forensic evaluation helps gain insight into the status, condition, and capacity of the parents in relation to the best interest of the child. A forensic evaluation proves to be essential in assessing the aspects of custody, support, maintenance, valuation, visitation, relocation, and the termination of parental rights (Oppenheimer, 2021). The main aim of a forensic evaluation in the scenario of child custody is to ensure that the welfare of the children involved is enhanced even after the separation of the parents. Fictional Client A fictional evaluation will be undertaken on a fictitious client by the name of Peggy to gain insight into the aspect of child custody. Peggy is the mother of a child involved in a child

Forensic Evaluation Draft 3 custody case, and an evaluation has to be undertaken to gain insight into the ability of the parent to take responsibility and custody of the child. An analysis will, therefore, look into the status, capacity, and condition of Peggy in relation to the issue of custody in the case. Peggy is a 30- year-old African American woman married to an African American man and is involved in a child custody case and, therefore, wishes to be granted custody of their child. She is employed and works in a small coffee shop. Informed Consent Obtaining informed consent is crucial in ensuring that the dignity and legal rights of the examinees involved are honored in addition to those of other individuals involved. It is through informed consent that individuals are in a position to make a decision of whether or not to participate in a forensic evaluation. Informed consent is also essential in helping individuals make decisions relating to disclosures in the course of evaluation. Before conducting the assessment, Peggy is given consent relating to the evaluation of parental fitness that relates to child custody. She is therefore informed on the nature of the assessment that has been ordered by the court which means that she is not a client to the examiner. She is also given consent on the nature of confidentiality of the information she provides in the sense that it will not be confidential as it will be given to the court and other individuals involved in the process of custody. Additionally, consent is given to her on the information from the evaluation that will be compiled into a report and offered to her when appropriate. Informing Evaluee In the process of evaluation, the individuals involved would be informed about the potential uses of the data collected from them in addition to consent to be a key element in

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Forensic Evaluation Draft 4 enhancing disclosure and consequently the evaluation of findings concerning the forthcoming litigation and other procedures employed by the court. Other evaluees would also be involved in the process and could be in the form of Peggy’s child, friends, neighbors, and teachers. The other parties involved in the process would be informed about their role in enhancing the welfare of the child and the nature in which the information provided would be utilized in the process of making a decision on granting custody. The evaluees would therefore be informed that the information provided would not be confidential as it would be utilized in the court process and in other stages of making decisions and granting child custody. Interview Questions Interview questions asked to Peggy in relation to child custody and parental fitness would be essential in the process of evaluation and in coming up with an informed decision. The interview questions may therefore entail an analysis of the home environment to gain insight into the level of safety associated with it and its suitability for the growth and development of the child. Another interview question would also seek to analyze the financial capability of the parents to cater to the needs of their children and may look into aspects of formal employment and the amount of income earned by the parents. Another interview question would also look into the amount of time spent by the parent for their child, where more time spent is an indication of care for the children. Another interview question would also seek to understand the custody arrangement that is in use to help gain insight into the primary caretaker in the family. The subsequent question would seek to understand the form of custody that is being sought by the parents to gain insight into the effectiveness of the achievement of the intended goal. Understanding the custody being sought is essential in helping judges understand the form of custody and the needs of the children and ensure that the two are aligned together. Peggy may

Forensic Evaluation Draft 5 also be asked about the nature of communication that she intends to maintain with the father of the child to gain insight into the nature of the current relationship and the future welfare of the children. Peggy would also be asked about her physical and mental wellness and also that of the father to ensure that custody is granted to the parent who is fit for the duty of parenting (AACS Counselling, 2023). Finally, an interview question on access to other family members and communication with them would also be essential in ensuring that the welfare of the children is enhanced. Collateral Information Collateral information can be obtained from different individuals, such as the child involved, neighbors, and teachers of the child. The child can provide essential information that relates to the participation of the parents in different activities in the life of the child such as sports, the reaction of the parents in scenarios where something goes wrong, things done by the parents that tend to make the child offended, the level of comfort with either parent in discussing different issues, the level of contribution by the parents in times of sickness, the best attributes of the parents, differences noted in the parents, and the reaction of one parent in relation to the other parent being granted custody. The neighbors could provide crucial information relating to the behavior of the parents especially how they treat the child. This is crucial in making a decision on who deserves to be granted child custody and also the principles that should be laid down in relation to the custody. Teachers could also play an essential role in providing information that relates to the contribution of the parents in the academic life of the children and in other activities that are present in learning institutions such as sports and music. This is crucial in gaining insight into the level of support offered by the parents and the ability of each parent to offer support to the child after being granted custodial responsibilities.

Forensic Evaluation Draft 6 Additional collateral information could also be gained from Peggy’s family and friends, who would offer insight into her past, which could be in the form of a strict and religious background with a history of violence and abuse. Collateral information could also be present in the form of the role played by the parents in the life of Peggy and major traumatic events such as the death of her mother. Gaining insight into her social life would also be essential in understanding her ability to support her child since she was barely social. Information relating to the support offered to her in the form of therapy is also essential in gaining insight into her efforts in handling past traumatic events and the potential to have an impact on the life of her child. Information relating to a history of drug use, mental health medication use, and legal issues would be essential in gaining insight into the fitness of the parent in relation to custody. Test Battery The first test that would be utilized in this scenario of Peggy would be in the form of the Ackermen-Schoendorf test which is an evaluation that is based on scales and strives to make observations of the parents and their children in the course of an interview and understanding their responses and behavior (Mathy, 2019). The test is essential in gaining insight into the levels of intelligence of the children and the parents, the status of achievement of the children, and how the children are good at storytelling. The test is essential as it utilizes three subscales in observational, social, and cognitive-emotional forms to gain insight into the effectiveness of parenting. The second battery test that could be applied could be in the form of a custody quotient which proves to be essential in assessing the parental skills in the course of custody evaluation (Emery et al., 2019). The test looks into the emotional and physical, dangers, good parenting, parental assistance, stability at home, planning, caring, omissions, acts, values, joint custody, and frankness in rating the parental abilities of individuals. The custody quotient is

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Forensic Evaluation Draft 7 essential as it helps evaluators gain information from different sources and consequently make a decision that enhances the welfare and best interest of the child involved.

Forensic Evaluation Draft 8 References AACS Counseling, (2023). Child custody fitness assessment. [Online] Available at https://www.aacscounseling.com/child-custody-and-parental-fitness- assessment/#:~:text=A%20Child%20Custody%20Fitness%20Assessment,parent%20to %20parent%20their%20children Emery, R. E., Otto, R. K., & O’donohue, W. T. (2019). A critical assessment of child custody evaluations: Limited science and a flawed system. In Clinical Forensic Psychology and Law (pp. 199-230). Routledge. https://www.academia.edu/download/50749981/j.1529- 1006.2005.00020.x20161206-6745-1i0xtgv.pdf Mathy, N. M. (2019). 30 YEARS OF RESEARCH FROM KEILIN AND BLOOM TO PRESENT: A SURVEY OF CHILD CUSTODY EVALUATION PRACTICES (Doctoral dissertation, Wisconsin School of Professional Psychology). https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Nicole_Mathy/publication/358473615_Running_hea d_CHILD_CUSTODY_EVALUATION_PRACTICES_30_YEARS_OF_RESEARCH_F ROM_KEILIN_AND_BLOOM_TO_PRESENT_A_SURVEY_OF_CHILD_CUSTODY _EVALUATION_PRACTICES/links/6203ec19c2d279745e77612d/Running-head- CHILD-CUSTODY-EVALUATION-PRACTICES-30-YEARS-OF-RESEARCH-FROM- KEILIN-AND-BLOOM-TO-PRESENT-A-SURVEY-OF-CHILD-CUSTODY- EVALUATION-PRACTICES.pdf Oppemheimer, K., (2021). You may get what you ask for. The difference between forensic psychological evaluations, parental fitness evaluations, and custody evaluations. https://atlantapsychconsultants.com/you-may-get-what-you-ask-for-the-difference-

Forensic Evaluation Draft 9 between-forensic-psychological-evaluations-parental-fitness-evaluations-and-custody- evaluations/

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unit 7 assignment 1

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