Evaluators in Family Cases

When there are disputes about child custody or visitation, the court often orders an evaluation of the parents by an expert. Stuart Greenberg, a psychologist who did a lot of evaluations (with high price tags), was recently discovered to have been videotaping women using the restroom in his office. He committed suicide shortly after his behavior was discovered. Now his recommendations are being questioned, and the P-I is taking a look at the system generally. Families' futures decided with little oversight, Seattle P-I, Aug. 8, 2007.

UW School of Law Affiliate Professor Andy Benjamin is quoted in the article. He is the coauthor of a text from the American Psychological Association describing best practices in family evaluations: G. Andrew H. Benjamin and Jackie K. Gollan, Family Evaluation in Custody Litigation: Reducing Risks of Ethical Infractions and Malpractice (KF505.5 .B46 2003 at Classified Stacks). The APA's description of the book is here.

State standards for parenting evaluations are in WAC 246-924-445. The regulation was adopted June 7, effective July 7.

Thanks: Lisa Kremer.