Child Custody Evaluations --THE CASE FOR ABOLISHING CUSTODY EVALUATORS

Parenting Evaluation, Parenting Plans...
Reevaluating the Evaluators: Rethinking the Assumptions of Therapeutic Jurisprudence in the Family Courts

THE CASE FOR ABOLISHING CUSTODY EVALUATORS  By Margaret Dore.

Reevaluating the Evaluators: Rethinking the Assumptions of Therapeutic Jurisprudence in the Family Courts

There is an evolving and worsening mess in the systems and procedures currently in place to determine child custody and perform child custody evaluations when parents disagree.

This article discusses the minimum disclosures every child custody evaluator (also known as "parenting evaluator" or "best interests" guardian ad litem or GAL) [1], or parenting coordinator (herein called a "mental health professional" or "MHP") [2a] should be required to make, responding satisfactorily and in full, before being appointed in any family law case to do a child custody evaluation -- in fact before doing anything beyond answering a list of limited, detailed, specific, and narrowly-crafted questions the answers to which are directly within the MHP's field of proved expertise. This format is being used to help illustrate a problem, and with another purpose in mind. That purpose is to call for a revolt altogether against the notion of "therapeutic jurisprudence" -- which has been proved to do little to benefit children, much to benefit the divorce industry, much to complicate and pervert our family laws, much to erode fundamental rights and liberties, and much to harm the families who become trapped in the system. There are many problems, of course. But they are symptoms. Step one is to get the agent of most of them out of our family courts. The Emperor has no clothes.

There have been many calls for reform [2b], but for the most part, while they are admirable and well-documented intentions, they miss the boat; while they identify various problems and propose fixes in the system, they fail to identify and address the core reason the system is sick. Thus the proposals seek to treat only symptoms while failing to apply a cure to eliminate the disease.

Contrary to the public perception, and the perception that those seeking lucrative appointments in the court system wish to convey, a degree in some field of mental health does not qualify the individual to perform work that consists of open-ended investigating, evaluating, recommending, or decision-making about other persons' families and children. [3] What originally commenced, and was thought to be a good idea as a judge's assigment of fairly narrow tasks designed to streamline fact-finding and protect individuals' therapy records [4] (e.g. asking a social worker to do a home study, e.g. asking a psychologist to opine on the possible effects on functioning of a party's known or suspected personality disorder or state of depression when mental health already is at issue) has burgeoned into a free-for-all in which a panoply of MHPs make work and involve themselves in the family court system at enormous cost and detriment to the parties with expensive litigation-exacerbating processes, trials-within-trials, experts and counter-experts, and inevitable referrals to additional MHPs (often cronies) for all manner of alternate dispute resolutions and sometimes endless (and often utterly unproven) therapies. [5]

(1) Do you have a law degree or previous extensive experience as a law enforcement officer doing investigations, and if not, what qualifies you to do this work?

The milieu in which the MHP will be working is the justice system, in which litigants have certain rights of due process [6] and in which decisions made in connection with one issue can materially affect a litigant's position as to seemingly unrelated issues in the same case, and in which milieu, inter alia, centuries of jurisprudence have honed certain concepts involving what constitutes reliable evidence, burdens of proof, and other legal aspects bearing on the ultimate resolution of a case. [7] Sociologists, psychologists, and even real scientists by reason of their formal training tend to have little understanding of or appreciation for these legal concepts. [8]

Read more here: http://www.thelizlibrary.org/liz/child-custody-evaluations.html

Monsters In The Closet—and Some Angry Monsters Are Pissed Off- They are as you would expect, woman hating, self entitled typical wife beaters and child abusers--- well done dude’s

 

Abusers really have nothing better to do than to ‘act’ (as we all know) OHHHH soooooooooooo sincere.

I always lock or put all on moderation as they--- yes, the Monsters always have terrible things to say about dead mothers dead children.

Since they all sat around and were all --- upset w verzions childs view—just their abuser view and distoration – ya know the child? ya man that—

Thought I’d share a few of these LOVELY daddys , mens, abusers rights – fathers rights,entitlement folks non public but when they don't get what they want--- well… comments about the fear of children. Yes violent men- we know its all supposed to be about you—look up narcissistic yup-

its all in the sociopath --- they are sooooooo not sweet.. to EVERYONE cept when the cowards close the doors of the prison of home…

It is a BELIEF SYSTEM, ENTITLEMENT, OWNERSHIP…. and a blatant hatred to all women.

CHEERS – wife beaters and child beaters keep on posting….

my answer to all you poor monsters that do not want to be nothing but the perfect good guy—all survivors know this… is

WHEN THE CEMETARIES START FILLING UP W DEAD MEN LIKE THE DO DEAD MOTHERS AND CHILDREN--- then we can talk--- about all those evil wives—IMO should all be buying guns teaching their daughters and protecting themselves.

less dv i assure you—and well still no dead men. funnny how that works.

till then…. keep on whining crying and go home and beat the hell out of your family—since your all such GOOd men.

Monsters In the Closet - Domestic Violence From a Child's View

 

 

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• fuck you cunt

  pismostroch 1 week ago

   

  

• This is fucking misandric bullshit.Most child abusers are womans.

  pismostroch 1 week ago

   

  

• There are violent women (I know - I was married to one) but you never hear about them in the press.

  Weapons and the element of surprise are great equalizers, but getting the courts to prosecute a violent woman takes an act of god, and a father getting custody of his kids takes a miracle.

  deadboltdad 2 weeks ago

   

  

• Well done.The vast majority of abuse against children is perpetrated by women. This video helps to cover that up and helps female pedophiles and child-murderers get away with it.

  Without your work and the work of Verizon some of this poor innocent abuser women could even get a slap on the wrist and we couldn't have that.

  With your continued support we can make sure that many more children can be harmfully abused by women and we can make sure that those women get away scot-free. Hate on men

  anontwelve 1 month ago

   

• I reported this video for being anti-male and discriminatory. This video is no better than a KKK video! It is full of scare tactics against all males, and is far from true. This video is saying that all males(fathers and brothers) are monsters and that girls have to be scared of them. What a bunch of BS! You can take this feminism and stuff it! (this one made me laugh KKK? insanity is running deep)

  jacobew2000 1 month ago

   

• I had to hunt this video down..... Shame on Verizon! They removed it from the internet as much as they could. But thank you for making it accessible. I am glad I got a chance to see it. It does depict the feelings,,, however it doesn't seem to be as frightening.. walking on egg shells.. wondering what he will be like when he came home after work. When most people couldn't wait for the weekends.... I was relieved when Monday came around!

  tinap610 1 month ago

  

• @tinap610 I know. Me too.

  ANGELFURY1212 1 month ago

  

• This only says "She" sees abuse, and that it is the "Dad" that abuses them, and only says that the "Brother" will become an abuser. This basically says only Men abuse, and only Women are victims. Do break the cycle of silence, and say that Men are abused too.

           AngelusTheSheikh 1 month ago

 

• This video is NOT a one sided attempt by a major telecommunications corporation to influence the minds of a bunch of complete and total morons to promote an organization that influences irresponsible and entitled women to irrationally fear, hate and be angry of men.

        cragmac1000 2 months ago

 

• Men get abused too, why would u agree with this bias video?

       TheOutspokenman1 2 months ago

 

• They fortunately pulled these misleading ads

  anikinippon 2 months ago

   

• Thanks so much for posting this video. I work at a domestic violence and sexual assault agency and this video says it all. 

  MsPsycho10 2 months ago

   

• Why did you remove my comment? If you think you are absolutely right then you shouldn't censor what other people say.

  lillie1990am 2 months ago

   

• The view that domestic violence is male on female is factually false. Women and men commit domestic violence coequally. In addition women are the principal abusers of children. The US Department of health and Human Services show mothers abusing children at more than double the rate of fathers.

  johntheother 2 months ago

   

• more demonization of men, how typical from the misandric western female SMH

  THEATRYCAL 2 months ago

   

• My mother physically and emotionally abused my father to the point that he filed for divorce. Is my mother a monster? Is my sister a monster just like her? Am I a 'survivor'?

  Why is the 'monster' always a man?

  mrgimp420 2 months ago

   

• There is no such thing as a "pro-abuser" lobby. The closest equivalent are those who demand that PSAs reflect the truth that women are just as violent as men and that we not paint dv as something that is done exclusively by men against women

                lillie1990am 2 months ago

CINC for minor child Pediatrician Medical Records indicate sexual abuse from father Hal Richardson

http://www.docstoc.com/docs/document-preview.aspx?doc_id=50421823

1999 march 23rd CINC for minor child Pediatrician Medical Records indicate sexual abuse from father Hal Richardson

1999 march 23rd CINC for minor child Pediatrician Medical Records indicate sexual abuse from father Hal Richardson

Domestic Violence Continued: Contested Child Custody Through Protracted Litigation

 

"Domestic Violence Continued: Contested Child Custody", is a 28 minute documentary produced by Dr. Sharon K. Araji, Professor and Chair, Department of Sociology at UCD. The video focuses on victims of domestic violence sharing their stories about what happened to them when they left their abusive partners and became involved in contested child custody cases. It features police and officers of the court who are knowledgeable about these types of cases, and interviews with Tanya Brown, Nicole Brown-Simpson's sister, Dr. Robert Geffner, international expert on the effects of domestic violence on children, and Lundy Bancroft, international expert on DV and contested child custody.

Colorado Documentary Participants: Denver Police Department DV Unit Officers Randy Royal and Benito Trujillo; Director, Family Tree, Scott Shields; Attorney and Advisor to Project Safeguard, Chris Radolf; and several Protective Mothers from area.

Documentary presentation held in conjunction with publication of book, "Domestic Violence, Abuse and Child Custody" (April 2009), and Protective Mother's march on nation's capital, May 9th, 18th, 19th and 20th to raise awareness of the issue that is the focus of the documentary.
Co-Sponsors: UCD Sociology, Alpha Kappa Delta International Honor Society, Women's and Gender Studies Program, and Center on Domestic Violence, School of Public Affairs Program Editing Award: UC Denver, Center for Faculty Excellence.

Program Promotional Award: UC Denver, CLAS Dean's Fund for Faculty Development

Domestic Batterers Do Not Need Help! They NEED PUNISHED!! Jailed and Kept Away from their Victims!

Will this insanity ever end? Topeka decriminalizes domestic violence, Kansas City just followed suit yesterday.

I listen to the local police Scanner and am simply amazed at all the poor batterer Domestic Violence calls—Daddy refusing to give children back after visits, kidnapping when mom does it- his kids when he does it, he is just stressed, addiction etc, etc, etc..... -sigh-

Photo by Gordon Cheung:The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse

Women will never be free as long as they cannot leave an abuser a Violent Offender with her children, in fact - this is where they do the next best thing to killing her- they take her kids. With the Courts help. Stop treating this as a illness, a family thing it IS A CRIME!!!! We Do Not Need Safe Visit For Violent Offenders like 'Safe Visit' see prior post. 

We do not need to treat them we need to punish them for crimes committed. Punish as you would assault cases. At least get rid of the DV clause -- or 'get out of jail free card'.

Domestic batterers find help in YWCA program Steve Halley leads small groups that provide help for domestic violence offenders through the Family Peace Initiative program, based at the Topeka YWCA, 225 SW 12th. By Phil Anderson Domestic violence is a widespread problem that often spirals out of ...

Kansas City Ends Domestic Violence Ordinance - Women on the Firing Line In October, the District Attorney of Shawnee County, which encompasses Topeka, Kansas, announced that he would cease to prosecute domestic violence cases within the city of Topeka. He argued that with recent budget cuts he no longer had sufficient resources and that the city should take on the burden of these prosecutions. The city council responded by repealing their ordinance against domestic violence! 

Kansas has so much crap going on at the moment, Gov. Sam Brownback pushing couples counseling and ABSTINENCE?  It would be hysterically funny to even think this -- if it weren't true, that this, IS what they are doing.

I mean C'mon.... “Hey you perp… stop raping and beating your wife'. Yeah, that will sure fix it.

State's proposed domestic violence contract widely criticized But the two sentences are still inappropriate in a proposed contract for domestic violence services, no matter the rationale, said state Sen. Laura Kelly, D-Topeka, ranking minority member of the Ways and Means Committee and the Public Health and ...

Fatherhood Initiatives being forced down everyone's throat, His motto: "Woman stay married period." Brownback-I-Stan?  indeed. 
From Reality Check: Brownback, The Wolf in Sheep's Clothing, Attacks Single Mothers...

“I’m going to force women into motherhood and marriage, Reduce Funding to SRS for mothers and Children and INCREASE Funding to SRS for Fatherhood Initiatives." 

That is by the way DADDY WELFARE!!

I Expect The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse To Ride In Soon.

U. S. Fatherhood Initiatives - Control of Women and Children Under the Guise of "Responsible Married Fatherhood"

Attention Judges and Lawmakers: This is the REAL AGENDA of the Father’s Rights Movement

Maternal Deprivation Inflicted on Battered Women and Abused Children

Senate Judiciary Chairman - Response to Proposed Changes to Child Custody Law

Hearing to Review Responsible Fatherhood Programs

The National Fatherhood Initiative: Supporting a Misogynistic Agenda

Topeka, KS: Safe Visit Looses United Way Funding, A Child trafficking, Batterer Friendly, Custody Switch Program. Fatherhood Initiatives Give Batterers Custody

Custody Switch - Safe Visit of Topeka, Kansas - The Scam, Court Ordered Abuse for profit-

Because of the Fathers Rights Initiatives. Mommies NOT needed. Just Access Visitation Programs.

It’s about time!!!! YEAH!!!! one less, so many more to go….

Safe Visit and the many other programs that have morphed in the past two decades Odyssey, TREC, Fathers Rights Topeka and all the many many other so called metal health supposed professionals—and simple ‘social workers’ -who found easy $$-  e.g. Connie Sanchez, Jenny Shaw, Kara Haney, (just to name a very few) who ‘charge $’ to SUPERVISE a Mother’s Visits with HER own Children.

I had not finished this chapter in my “Leaving The War Zone” I find it very difficult to write about the horrific human rights crimes that Kansas committed, allowed, continues… to my daughter and I, all to turn a buck. But due to the recent article about Safe Visit and Connie Sanchez in Topeka Kansas, "United Way pulls funding on Safe Visit program" 

I publish below what I have written thus far and WHY all these so called –do good- human experiment-Programs [may be profitable to ‘Hitler’ type persona’s-this HUMAN Experiment, social engineering Program FAILURE] for use to follow up on article about Save Visit Loosing their Funding. And HOPEFULLY, God please… Closing by February.....(Note in the article it states ‘max 30 one hour supervised visits.’)

Rikki and I were SUPERVISED there for over Decade - 15 YEARS. Incredible. Two lives completely destroyed ... the best they could come up with was a limit of 30 hours. If this had been the rule (or if it had never existed in the first place) in the many years of it's inception in 1995 and in 1996 when we were 1st Court Ordered to the 'human trafficking' and 'Take Battered Mothers Children and give to Abusers Program' aka Safe Visit. These people need to go down, them and all ACCESS VISITATION aka Custody Switch Programs for Batterers.

Perhaps..…....a mother and daughter would know each today if 30 hours was max......As is, the batterer Hal Richardson has maintained his bond of chains and imprisonment of my daughter, with the assistance from safe Visit and other anti mother, Abuser friendly individuals and businesses….there has been absolutely no contact in several years. Which is why I began writing or attempts to "Leaving The War Zone."

 

#####

Chapter Three – Safe Visit - The Custody Switch, The Scam, The Profit$

June 15^th 2011 7:00 A.M.

Rikki with her Mother Claudine Dombrowski. Casualties of Safe Visit Program Who Assist's Batterers In Getting Child Custody, While Erasing Mother. This case leads in a Human Rights suit filed at the Inter American Commission Human Rights on behalf of all battered Mothers and their children. ‘Dombrowski et el. v US’

 

Leaving The War Zone Chapter Three: The Custody Switch

It’s Wednesday, ‘hump day’. I am sitting outside this cool morning drinking my coffee, feeling the warmth on my legs listening to the world waking up- I am reminded of a time –many years ago when Rikki and I were still safe. In W. Kansas in our in Pawnee rock.

I would sit outside drinking my coffee in the early morning quiet. The weather cool- watering my awesome flowers that I had landscaped for several years.

Our home was beautiful. We had a small pool 12 ft for Rikki her friends and I. These were warm memory days. Days when I knew where my daughter was, days when hope floated with each beating of her heart. I would love to watch her sleep- she sleeps like I do- rough. She snores- like I do- and inherited maternal trait from my own dear mother.

Allergies tend to hit us with a storm, but we never let them effect the beauty and joy of each precious day we had. At this time in the late 90’s we had only 3 weeks together before the week long hell visits would begin for her.

The courts start in the custody switch. A game that is now known to many mothers- “The Custody Switch” mine came on snail mail by the Judge with out motion from either party, without hearing, the judge simple on his own issued his own 9 page order on July 31, 2000 that Rikki would be living with her father. And that if I foreclosed on our beautiful home and quit my well paying state job (dad never paid child support - I never needed it - I had been working for the state of Kansas as a psychiatric nurse for almost 13 years ) I was to quit my job, severe all contact with my home, Rikkis home, and relocate to Topeka Kansas (the courts knowing that do to my physical injuries inflicted by  daddy dearest that I would not be able to work in Topeka—Larned state hospital had made concessions for my physical disabilities- and Topeka state hospital had closed in 1996- when I moved to Pawnee Rock).

That day, July 31, 2000 will always mark the day-:the music died’.- we had after 6 years of heavy litigation and after I had spent in upwards of over 1 million dollars—my child was gone. I was forced into unemployment, homelessness, and no health care—all for “the best interest of the child’. Makes no sense does it? Daddy promptly tried to get me back into the house by forcing me to have sex to even see Rikki—I did. Who wouldn't.

By December of that same year, the last time I saw Rikki with out armed guard—daddy had beaten Rikki so badly, I could not allow her suffering anymore -- I confronted him—only to find that once again as a good ‘co-parenting’ (as quoted by Harry Moore Case manger—‘it’s called co-parenting deal with it”) I had the hell beat out of me again. (this is co-parenting).

I then found myself brutally raped that same beating Dec 16^th,2000 just two days after Rikki had been beaten, (she fell up the hill btw) her face swollen and tears in her eyes. God, Rikki I am so sorry, I am so sorry. I tried to protect her, I did the unthinkable. I reported it.

As all protective mothers are - I was swiftly denied any contact with my dear sweet Rikki for the next two years. Then when I was placed into supervised visits “SAFE VISIT” of TOPEKA—they were arm guard—hence began the next decade of our lives. When I was able to see her it was through safe visits only. The cost was excruciating, the time was only an hour—we could not hug we could not talk about anything past dull, how’s school etc. And never never about why we were even there, why mom and daughter could not even see each other in the park, outside or at home, or go anywhere.

We remained confined to a 10’ x 10’ room with 1 monitor, 1 supervisor, 1 armed Shawnee county sheriff guard – all within arm distance - the monitor wrote down everything we said - everything we did. They even would stop us when we would talk to fast, so they could catch up.

I am sorry Rikki. (of course- I am not to have access to these reports) I do have some reports that they sent to the court or to the guardian ad litem. Not all mind you but some. See here: SAFE VISIT REPORTS & MEMOS

I am brought back to present day, the sun warm on my legs. The cool morning air of a Kansas summer. A life time ago. I have no contact with Rikki. Its been more that a year and a half since I last talked to or saw her. I have always been able to follow her cyber prints. But they ceased a month ago. No one knows where she is—dad will not report her missing. He is dad after all—still with his child’s coffin and hunting rifle on the wall. No one sees a problem with this.

Where are you baby? I pray you are safe, I pray you are alive.

There have been no unidentified bodies in the 100 mile radius fitting her description. ‘whew’.

Since I am a nobody the police will not help inform me of her whereabouts—after all dad a snitch for the police has just helped to ‘bag’ a 60 person felony drug bust—so they are really protecting him. –as usual.

 

[Leaving The war Zone – A Battered Mother’s Memoirs For Her Daughter] Claudine Dombrowski

One More Battleground: Domestic Violence, Child Custody, and the Batterers’ Relentless Pursuit of their Victims Through the Courts

 

II. REASONS WHY BATTERERS USE FAMILY COURTS TO CONTINUE
THEIR ABUSE

When a couple divorces, the legal system may become a symbolic
battleground on which the male batterer continues his abuse.
Custody and visitation may keep the battered woman in a
relationship with the battering man; on the battleground, the
children become the pawns.36

After looking at how domestic violence operates as a mechanism of
control, perhaps it is not surprising to discover that batterers manipulate the
courts and their victims during dissolution, custody, and visitation
proceedings. After all, domestic violence is a pattern of behavior that is not
easily reversed, so separation alone is unlikely to break the pattern of abuse.
There are numerous reasons why a batterer chooses to use the courts and
the litigation process; many of them are explored below. Before delving
into the specific reasons, it is important to discuss the frequency with which
batterers decide to participate in family court proceedings.

As mentioned earlier, fathers who abuse are twice as likely to seek sole
custody of their children as nonviolent fathers, and notably, abusive fathers
are three times as likely to be in arrears of child support.37 In one recent
study in Massachusetts, fifteen of the forty fathers (approximately 38
percent) who sought custody received sole or joint custody of the children,
despite the fact that each and every one of these men were reported to have
abused both the mother and the child/children prior to separation and
continued to do so after separation.38 Thus, before exploring why courts
may choose to disregard a history of domestic violence,39 it is important to
note that a history of violence does not stop batterers from obtaining
custody. In fact, a history of abuse seems to increase the likelihood that the
batterer will seek custody.

So, why do batterers use family courts as a battleground at all? What is it
about the courts, and family courts specifically, that is so appealing to
them?

[because they can]

A. Only Available Contact Left
One of the most obvious reasons batterers use family courts is because it
is often the only way they can legally maintain any contact with the
survivor.40 After leaving their abuser, survivors may try to keep their
contact information private in order to keep as much distance from the
batterer as they can. They may seek formal protection through restraining
orders or civil protection orders. They may move without allowing the
batterer access to their current address or phone number. However, even if a
survivor can achieve this physical distance from a batterer, the batterer may
try to initiate contact through the courts by seeking custody of or visitation
rights with his child/children. In this way, the courtroom may present an
opportunity to prolong contact with the victim or seek contact that is not
otherwise available.41

As mentioned earlier, not all batterers who abuse the mothers will abuse
the children. Certainly, nuanced solutions exist that can provide an
opportunity for fathers, even those with a history of domestic violence, to
remain in some sort of communication with their children. Every family has
unique circumstances that can allow for a variety of solutions; however,
because the courts may be the only way and the only forum for abusive
fathers to continue abusing their former spouse and children, it is important
for courts to take a comprehensive look at each situation and to act carefully
if a history of abuse is present.

Full Document Here:

One More Battleground Domestic Violence, Child Custody, And the Batterers' Relentless Pursuit of Their Vict... http://d1.scribdassets.com/ScribdViewer.swf?document_id=73301306&access_key=key-1zb9x2hkdqmw641m75ob&page=1&viewMode=list