This book is extremely useful for child custody evaluation (CCE) (in IL, called allocation of parental responsibilities evaluation), family law attorneys, and judges. It contains a great deal of crucial, unique information, including:

  • New CCE-specific research on the Parent-Child Relationship Inventory
  • New CCE-specific research on the Personality Assessment Inventory
  • New research on the MMPI-2 based on the largest published CCE sample
  • Comprehensive analysis of all published CCE MMPI-2 research findings
  • Game Theory applications for evaluation cases and legal policy
  • Use of scientific findings to improve child interviews
  • Practice-oriented aids to improve evaluation methods and judgment
  • Analysis of family-specific information for time-sharing recommendations
  • Updates on parental alienation, domestic violence, child abuse, and substance misuse
  • Answers to criticisms of CCE and proposals to improve practice

Reviewer comments:

“An excellent book not only for custody evaluators, but others as well. It is valuable for parents and should be required reading for Guardians ad litem.”

Sara E. Bonkowski, Ph.D., Custody evaluator, mediator, Professor Emeritus at Aurora University, and author, Kids Are Nondivorceable and Teens are Non-Divorceable.

“The scholarship in this book is extraordinary. Dr. Hynan provides a broad overview for child custody evaluators and any interested persons working in the area of child custody litigation. A must for all family lawyers’ libraries.”

Steven Peskind, attorney and author, The Family Law Trial Evidence Handbook and Divorce in Illinois.

Table of Contents:

Preface

1. What is Important for Children of Divorce?

2. New Theoretical Applications: Game Theory

3. How We Think About Children of Divorce: Uncertainty in Judgment from Nobel Prize-Winning Research

4. Time Sharing

5. Collecting Information from Parents and Collaterals

6. Observing Parents Interact with Children

7. Interviewing Children

8. The Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI): Expanded Research

9. The Parent-Child Relationship Inventory (PCRI): Expanded Research

10. The MMPI-2: New Research

11. Other Psychological Measures

12. Difficult Evaluation Challenges: Domestic Violence, Child Abuse, Substance Abuse, and Relocation

13. Parental Alienation and Gatekeeping

14. Report Writing

15. Ethics, Guidelines, Risk Management, and Improving Practice

References

Index