Parent evaluators set own fees while wielding enormous power
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| Kim McLauglin was one of a number of divorcing parents who hired psychologist Stuart Greenberg to be her court-appointed evaluator in a child custody dispute with her ex-husband | ||
In the field of family law, a little-examined group of professionals has enough influence to separate fathers from children and relegate mothers to weekends-only status. So-called parent evaluators need no particular credentials or training. They may use any evaluative method they wish, charge what they please and remain virtually free of oversight. Yet their word can upend families in a single stroke. In recent decades, as dockets have become clogged with custody battles, overwhelmed judges have turned increasingly to this cluster of psychologists and social workers for guidance.
But, as there is almost no check on their influence, any human foible might result in a faulty or unfair report —- with enormous implications for those families under the microscope. At best, evaluations can be a helpful tool for judges untrained to riffle through piles of psychological evidence. But a psychologist recently employed as a state Board of Psychology regulator says she’s seen enough complaints about evaluators’ ethics to warrant a serious concern. Some had had improper relationships with a parent while purporting to conduct objective evaluations; others interviewed only one side in the dispute. Yet there is no sure recourse for challenging evaluators nor even a central repository for complaints.
Go to original by Claudia Rowe, Seattle Post-Intelligencer,
