AFCC 10th Symposium on Child Custody Evaluations Operationalizing the Best Interest of the Child Standard (BICS): Developing Empirically-Validated Assessment Procedures for Child Custody Evaluators

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AFCC 10th Symposium on Child Custody
Evaluations Operationalizing the Best Interest
of the Child Standard (BICS) Developing
Empirically-Validated Assessment Procedures for
Child Custody Evaluators

• Marvin W. Acklin, PhD, ABAP, ABPP
• Pacific Forensic Associates, Inc.
• Honolulu, Hawaii

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Operationalizing the Best Interest of the Child
Standard (BICS) Empirically-Validated
Assessment Tools for Child Custody Evaluators

• Material presented is available for download at
  www.dracklin.com.

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Operationalizing the Best Interest of the Child
Standard (BICS) Empirically-Validated
Assessment Tools for Child Custody Evaluators

• Child custody evaluations (CCE) have been
  criticized because of dependency on the vague and
  complex BICS (Emery, Otto, ODonohue, 2005
  Krauss Sales, 2000). These authorities feel
  that psychologists have little to offer in Family
  Court due to the undeveloped state of child
  custody behavioral science and the lack of
  empirically-validated tools.

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Operationalizing the Best Interest of the Child
Standard (BICS) Empirically-Validated
Assessment Tools for Child Custody Evaluators

• Tippins and Wittmann (2005) cautioned against the
  continued use of custody evaluations that may be
  lacking in professional knowledge base and are
  conducted despite a lack of consensus on a
  uniform methodological approach.

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Operationalizing the Best Interest of the Child
Standard (BICS) Empirically-Validated
Assessment Tools for Child Custody Evaluators

• When practice loses its root in psychological
  science, CCE opinions and recommendations tend
  toward decisions that are more socio-moral and
  personal than clinical (Tippins Wittmann,
  2005).

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Operationalizing the Best Interest of the Child
Standard (BICS) Empirically-Validated
Assessment Tools for Child Custody Evaluators

• ODonohue and Bradley (1999) wonder if, given the
  current state of science in the field, it is
  reasonable to draw any empirically-based
  conclusions with some semblance of scientific
  certainty.

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Operationalizing the Best Interest of the Child
Standard (BICS) Empirically-Validated
Assessment Tools for Child Custody Evaluators

• In contrast to other psycho-legal constructs
  (competency to stand trial, NGRI, etc.), the BICS
  poses significant challenges it is broad-band,
  complex and multidimensional.
• The Hawaii statute HRS 571-46 is a good example.

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HRS 571-56

• (1)  Any history of sexual or physical abuse of
  a child by a parent
• (2)  Any history of neglect or emotional abuse
  of a child by a parent
• (3) The overall quality of the parent-child
  relationship
• (4) The history of caregiving or parenting by
  each parent prior and subsequent to a marital or
  other type of separation

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HRS 571-56

• (5) Each parent's cooperation in developing and
  implementing a plan to meet the child's ongoing
  needs, interests, and schedule provided that
  this factor shall not be considered in any case
  where the court has determined that family
  violence has been committed by a parent
• (6) The physical health needs of the child
• (7) The emotional needs of the child
• (8) The safety needs of the child

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HRS 571-56

• (9) The educational needs of the child
• (10) The child's need for relationships with
  siblings
• (11) Each parent's actions demonstrating that
  they allow the child to maintain family
  connections through family events and activities
  provided that this factor shall not be considered
  in any case where the court has determined that
  family violence has been committed by a parent

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HRS 571-56

• (12) Each parent's actions demonstrating that
  they separate the child's needs from the parent's
  needs
• (13) Any evidence of past or current drug or
  alcohol abuse by a parent
• (14) The mental health of each parent

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HRS 571-56

• (15) The areas and levels of conflict present
  within the family and
• (16) A parent's prior willful misuse of the
  protection from abuse process under Chapter 586
  to gain a tactical advantage in any proceeding
  involving the custody determination of a minor.

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Tools for Child Custody Evaluations

• A common criticism of child custody evaluations
  is the use of clinical instruments such as the
  MMPI-2, Rorschach, etc., which have little direct
  relevance to the ultimate issue.

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Tools for Child Custody Evaluations

• Otto and Heilbrun (2002) distinguish between
  three types of psychological tests a) forensic
  assessment instruments, b) forensically-relevant
  instruments, and c) clinical measures and
  assessment techniques.
• Forensic assessment instruments are measures that
  are directly relevant to a specific legal
  standard and reflect and focus on specific
  capacities, abilities, or
• knowledge that are embodied by the law.

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Tools for Child Custody Evaluations

• Forensically relevant instruments can be
  distinguished from forensic assessment
  instruments in that they do not assess or focus
  on specific legal standards and the associated
  functional capacities of the examinee,
  but, rather, they address clinical constructs
  that are often pertinent to evaluating persons in
  the legal system.

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Tools for Child Custody Evaluations

• Most commonly used in forensic evaluations are
  clinical measures and assessment techniques.
  These are the psychological tests and measures
  developed for assessment, diagnosis, and
  treatment planning with clinical populations in
  therapeutic contexts.

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Tools for Child Custody Evaluations

• Examples include instruments used to assess
  psychopathology, intelligence, personality, and
  academic achievement.

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Operationalizing the Best Interest of the Child
Standard (BICS) Empirically-Validated
Assessment Tools for Child Custody Evaluators

• Although the behavioral science foundation of the
  BICS is weak and poses complex challenges to the
  best practice assessment psychologist wishing to
  make research-based recommendations, it is the
  prevailing legal standard for child custody
  decision-making in all US jurisdictions.

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Operationalizing the Best Interest of the Child
Standard (BICS) Empirically-Validated
Assessment Tools for Child Custody Evaluators

• This presentation presents a conceptual model of
  the CE process, based on basic psychological
  research that lends itself to the use of
  empirically-validated instrumentation.
• The program efforts to develop empirically
  validated procedures and findings in CE
  investigations.

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Operationalizing the Best Interest of the Child
Standard (BICS) Empirically-Validated
Assessment Tools for Child Custody Evaluators

• Objectives
• Developing a conceptual framework that is
  amenable to empirical validation and organizing
  the CE process.
• Make preliminary proposals for the use of easily
  accessible and user-friendly, empirically-validate
  d assessment tools that are consistent with the
  AFCC Model Standards of Practice for Child
  Custody Evaluations and Rules of Evidence.

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Forensic psychological custody evaluations

• Gould, Jonathan (1998). Conducting Scientifically
  Crafted Child Custody Evaluations. Sage
  Publications.
• integrate the multifaceted components of the
  behavioral science literature and the law into a
  unified approach to child custody evaluations.

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Operationalizing the Best Interest of the Child
Standard (BICS) Empirically-Validated
Assessment Tools for Child Custody Evaluators

• Rule 702. Testimony by Experts
• If scientific, technical, or other specialized
  knowledge will assist the trier of fact to
  understand the evidence or to determine a fact in
  issue, a witness qualified as an expert by
  knowledge, skill, experience, training, or
  education, may testify thereto in the form of an
  opinion or otherwise, if (1) the testimony is
  based upon sufficient facts or data, (2) the
  testimony is the product of reliable principles
  and methods, and (3) the witness has applied the
  principles and methods reliably to the facts of
  the case. (As amended Apr. 17, 2000, eff. Dec. 1,
  2000.)

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Local Clinical Scientist Model

• Stricker Trierweiler. (1995). The local
  clinical scientist. A bridge between science and
  practice. American Psychologist, 50(12)995-1002.
• The local clinical scientist is a critical
  investigator who uses scienti?c research and
  methods, general scholarship, and personal and
  professional experience to develop plausible and
  communicable formulations of local phenomena.
  This investigator draws on scienti?c theory and
  research, general world knowledge, acute
  observational skills, and an open, sceptical
  stance toward the problem to conduct this
  inquiry. (pp. 2425)

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Local Clinical Scientist Model

• Trierweiler and Stricker (1995) emphasize both
  quantitative and qualitative methods of inquiry,
  as well as critical thinking skills, all adapted
  to the local needs and culture of the particular
  agency within which the clinical psychologist is
  working. The local clinical scientist is
  anthropologist, detective, and experimentalist,
  all rolled into one. While this is clearly a tall
  order, it can be understood as an aspirational
  goal and provides a methodological framework.

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Operationalizing the Best Interest of the Child
Standard (BICS) Empirically-Validated
Assessment Tools for Child Custody Evaluators

• Jameson, Ehrenberg, Hunter (1997) used
  structural, developmental, and functional
  perspectives from family systems theory in
  developing a conceptual framework around which
  to organize the BIC evaluative criteria.

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Operationalizing the Best Interest of the Child
Standard (BICS) Empirically-Validated
Assessment Tools for Child Custody Evaluators

• Eighty-eight qualified psychologists completed an
  exploratory survey, the Best Interests of the
  Child Questionnaire (BICQ), by rating the
  importance of 60 specific criteria in three areas
  of assessment relevant to custody and access
  evaluations
• Structural (relational assessment)
• Developmental (needs-of-the-child assessment)
• Functional (abilities-of-the-parents assessment).

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Operationalizing the Best Interest of the Child
Standard (BICS) Empirically-Validated
Assessment Tools for Child Custody Evaluators

• The model considered psychological factors
  affecting the best interests of the child,
  including parenting capacity of the prospective
  custodians in conjunction with the psychological
  and developmental needs of the child.

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Operationalizing the Best Interest of the Child
Standard (BICS) Empirically-Validated
Assessment Tools for Child Custody Evaluators

• Their purpose was to develop an a priori
  assessment model that would organize specific
  criteria relevant to the BICS into three main
  areas of assessment.
• Reviewing both the legal guidelines stipulating
  BICS and the psychological literature pertaining
  to the effects of divorce and of custody
  arrangements on child development they identified
  60 specific items relevant to the BICS.

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Operationalizing the Best Interest of the Child
Standard (BICS) Empirically-Validated
Assessment Tools for Child Custody Evaluators

• Using these three perspectives, the 60 criteria
  garnered from empirical research and various
  legal statutes were sorted a priori rational
  model into one of three areas of assessment.
• Using factor analysis, they constructed three
  domains, or first-order factors, reflecting the
  higher order BICS construct.

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Operationalizing the Best Interest of the Child
Standard (BICS) Empirically-Validated
Assessment Tools for Child Custody Evaluators

• --Structural- Relational Assessment--
• -ParentParent
• -ParentChild relationships
• --Developmental-Needs-of-the-Child Assessment--
• -Developmental needs of the child
• --Functional-Abilities-of-the-Parents Assessment
  ---Functional abilities of each parent
• to meet the child's needs

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Operationalizing the Best Interest of the Child
Standard (BICS) Empirically-Validated
Assessment Tools for Child Custody Evaluators

• --Structural--Relational Assessment
• Parent-Parent (assessment of parental
  relationship)
• Capacity for Shared Parenting
• Conflict/Cooperation/Communication
• A large body of research has consistently
  highlighted the role of interparental conflict in
  predicting childrens adjustment to divorce
  (Amato,1991)

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Operationalizing the Best Interest of the Child
Standard (BICS) Empirically-Validated
Assessment Tools for Child Custody Evaluators

• Our researchassessing the inter-parental
  relationship--
• Cross informant assessment of relationship
  compatibilitydiscrepancies in self and other
  appraisals on the Achenbach Self Report and Adult
  Behavior Checklst in divorcing parents reflect
  their level of incompatibility

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Operationalizing the Best Interest of the Child
Standard (BICS) Empirically-Validated
Assessment Tools for Child Custody Evaluators

• Ehrenberg, M.F., Hunter, M.A., Elterman, M.E.
  (1996). Shared parenting agreements after marital
  separation The roles of empathy and Narcissism.
  Journal of Consulting Clinical Psychology, 64,
  4, 808-818.
• The ability of the parents to manage conflict is
  the single most robust factor for child
  adjustment post-divorce--most consistent effect
  was found for the family conflict perspective
  (Amato, 1991)

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Operationalizing the Best Interest of the Child
Standard (BICS) Empirically-Validated
Assessment Tools for Child Custody Evaluators

• --Structural--Relational Assessment, cont--
• -Parent-Child (assessment of parent-child
  relationship)
• History Quality of Relationship
• Parental Commitment to Child
• History of parent-child involvement
• Emerys advocacy of the ALI rule

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Operationalizing the Best Interest of the Child
Standard (BICS) Empirically-Validated
Assessment Tools for Child Custody Evaluators

• --Developmental--Needs of Child Assessment--
• The psychosocial, academic functioning, and
  developmental needs of each child including
  wishes of each child where appropriate

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Operationalizing the Best Interest of the Child
Standard (BICS) Empirically-Validated
Assessment Tools for Child Custody Evaluators

• --Developmental--Needs of Child Assessment,
  cont--
• Medical-physical assessment of childs
  development and status
• Developmental assessment of childs psychosocial
  adaptation
• Academic assessment using collateral input
• Cross-informant assessment (CBCL, TRF)
• Standard cognitive and achievement measures

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Operationalizing the Best Interest of the Child
Standard (BICS) Empirically-Validated
Assessment Tools for Child Custody Evaluators

• --Functional--Abilities of the Parent
  Assessment--
• Assessment of the functional ability of each
  parent to meet these needs, including an
  evaluation of the interaction between each adult
  and child
• Emotional Stability
• Parental History
• Parenting Skills Knowledge
• History of Caregiving

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Operationalizing the Best Interest of the Child
Standard (BICS) Empirically-Validated
Assessment Tools for Child Custody Evaluators

• Tools for Each Assessment Domain (Parent-Parent
  relationship and Parent Abilities domains)
• Cross-informant assessment using the
• Achenbach Adult Self Report and Adult Behavior
  Checklist
• Personality Adjective Checklist
• Dyadic Adjustment Scale
• Dwire Acklin Relationship Compatibility Scale
• Self-Other Parenting Assessment Scale
• Strong focus on how the parents view each other

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Operationalizing the Best Interest of the Child
Standard (BICS) Empirically-Validated
Assessment Tools for Child Custody Evaluators

• The fartherest frontierassessment of parenting
• How to develop ecologically valid measures of
  parenting?
• Method scepticism and paper and pencil measures
  of parenting
• The in vivo character of real life parenting
• .

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Operationalizing the Best Interest of the Child
Standard (BICS) Empirically-Validated Assessment
Tools for Child Custody Evaluators

• Wilson, S., Durbin, C. E. (2012, April 30).
  The Laboratory Parenting Assessment Battery
  Development and Preliminary Validation of an
  Observational Parenting Rating System.
  Psychological Assessment. Advance online
  publication.

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Operationalizing the Best Interest of the Child
Standard (BICS) Empirically-Validated Assessment
Tools for Child Custody Evaluators

• An alternative--Assessment of each parents
  appraisal of the other parents skills and
  conduct as a parent
• Can parents accurately assess each other as
  parents?
• The Self-Other Parenting Assessment Scales
• What exactly do we measure?

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Operationalizing the Best Interest of the Child
Standard (BICS) Empirically-Validated
Assessment Tools for Child Custody Evaluators

• Self-Other Parenting Assessment Scale--Knowledge
  and Conduct regarding Safety, Nutrition,
  Medical/Health, Discipline, Education, Social,
  Recreational, and Emotional Wellbeing
• Personal attributes Moral, Self Control, Level
  of Hostility, Friendly Parent, and Co-parent
  Communication.
• Global Factors assessed are Global Knowledge,
  Global Behavior, and Global Competence.

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Operationalizing the Best Interest of the Child
Standard (BICS) Empirically-Validated
Assessment Tools for Child Custody Evaluators
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Operationalizing the Best Interest of the Child
Standard (BICS) Empirically-Validated
Assessment Tools for Child Custody Evaluators
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Operationalizing the Best Interest of the Child
Standard (BICS) Empirically-Validated
Assessment Tools for Child Custody Evaluators

• Methods for parent-child observation
• Acklin Cho-Stutler (2006). The Science and Art
  of Parent-Child Observations in Child Custody
  Evaluations. Journal of Forensic Psychology
  Practice, 6, 1, 51-62.
• Eyberg, et al (2005). Manual for the Dyadic
  Parent-Child Interaction Coding System, third
  edition). The Dyadic Parent-Child Interaction
  Coding System (DPICS) is a behavioral coding
  system that measures the quality of parent-child
  social interactions (Eyberg, Nelson, Duke,
  Boggs, 2005). The DPICS was developed by Dr.
  Sheila Eyberg at the University of Florida.

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Operationalizing the Best Interest of the Child
Standard (BICS) Empirically-Validated
Assessment Tools for Child Custody Evaluators

• --Tools for Assessment of Child Needs
• Cognitive, personality assessment, projective
  techniques (Rorschach and drawings, for KFD)
  Achenbach Scales (CBCL) collateral input
  (Achenbach TRF) review of school progress
  reports behavioral observation (interview,
  parent-child interactions)

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Operationalizing the Best Interest of the Child
Standard (BICS) Empirically-Validated
Assessment Tools for Child Custody Evaluators

• The Communication of Findings
• Levels of Empirical Support and CE Inferences
• Tippins Wittmann--Stratification and level of
  inferences in custody evaluations

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Operationalizing the Best Interest of the Child
Standard (BICS) Empirically-Validated
Assessment Tools for Child Custody Evaluators

• Level IWhat the clinician observes Basic level
  of observation and information reporting fact
  intensive/investigative focus
• Examples
• Behavioral observations
• parent-child interactional factors
• facts related to home location, features
• descriptions of parents daily schedule
  involvement in child care activities
• simple psychological test findings (mothers IQ
  is average)
• Conclusion Level I facts is at the lowest level
  of inference no higher level abstractions of
  inferences. Factual observations reported without
  inferences

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Operationalizing the Best Interest of the Child
Standard (BICS) Empirically-Validated
Assessment Tools for Child Custody Evaluators

• Level IIWhat the clinician concludes about the
  psychology of a parent, child or family, based on
  Level I findings.
• Examples
• Father has a substance abuse problem
• Fathers parenting style appears to be
  disorganized
• The child appears to be securely attached to his
  mother
• Mother appears to be depressed and her level of
  supervision and monitoring weak
• Conclusion Level II facts are based on a higher
  level of inference using Level I facts without
  reference to best interest/custody constructs.

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Operationalizing the Best Interest of the Child
Standard (BICS) Empirically-Validated
Assessment Tools for Child Custody Evaluators

• Level IIILevel III findings are what the
  psychologist concludes about the implications of
  Level III conclusion for custody-specific
  variables. Inferences drawn about
  custody-relevant constructs.
• Examples
• Mothers attitude appears to pose some risks to
  the childs unconflicted relation to father
• Fathers parenting capacity falls within normal
  limits
• The child appears to have educational needs that
  require careful parental supervision (e.g., daily
  completion of homework assignments)
• Conclusion At this point the psychologist is
  still not making overt comments about what should
  happen in the family but the inferences begin to
  have clear connections to the ultimate issues
  before the court.

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Operationalizing the Best Interest of the Child
Standard (BICS) Empirically-Validated
Assessment Tools for Child Custody Evaluators

• Level IVthe psychologists conclusions about the
  custody-related shoulds in the case. Directly
  addresses the ultimate issue. Recommendations
  regarding ultimate best interest issue.
• Examples
• It is recommended that the child should live with
  his mother as his primary custodian
• Father should be permitted to relocate with the
  child to his home town
• Conclusion These comments represent the highest
  level of inference and are considered
  controversial for several reasons lack of
  empirical foundation, incursion into domain of
  judicial discretion, representing value judgments
  on the evaluators part.

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Operationalizing the Best Interest of the Child
Standard (BICS) Empirically-Validated
Assessment Tools for Child Custody Evaluators

• References
• Acklin Cho-Stutler (2006). The Science and Art
  of Parent-Child Observations in Child Custody
  Evaluations. Journal of Forensic Psychology
  Practice, 6, 1, 51-62.
• Amato, P. (1991). Parental divorce and the
  Well-Being of Children, Psychological Bulletin,
  110, 1, 26-46.
• Association for Family and Conciliation Courts
  (2006). Model Standards of Practice for Child
  Custody Evaluation.
• Dwire, J., Acklin, M.W. (manuscript in
  preparation). Cross-informant assessment of
  relationship compatibility.
• Ehrenberg, M.F., Hunter, M.A., Elterman, M.E.
  (1996). Shared parenting agreements after marital
  separation The roles of empathy and Narcissism.
  Journal of Consulting Clinical Psychology, 64,
  4, 808-818.

53
Operationalizing the Best Interest of the Child
Standard (BICS) Empirically-Validated
Assessment Tools for Child Custody Evaluators

• Emery, R.E., Otto, R. K., W. T. (2005). A
  critical assessment of child custody evaluations.
  Psychological Science, 6, 1, 1- 29.
• Jameson, B.J., Ehrenberg, M.F., and Hunter, M.A.
  (1997). Psychologists Rating of the Best
  Interest of the Child Custody and Access
  Criterion A Family Systems Assessment Model,
  Professional Psychology Research Practice, 28,
  3, 253-262.
• Senno, N., Acklin, M.W. (research in progress).
  Cross-informant assessment of parental capacity
  in child custody evaluations.

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Operationalizing the Best Interest of the Child
Standard (BICS) Empirically-Validated
Assessment Tools for Child Custody Evaluators

• Tippins, T.M., Wittman, J.P. (2005) Empirical
  and ethical problems with custody
  recommendations A call for clinical humility and
  judicial vigilance. Family Court Review, 43(2),
  193-222.