Services

Report Services

Often the court appoints qualified professionals to observe a family and report back to the court regarding previously identified concerns. It is recommended that attorneys or parties contact SD Family Services, Inc. before seeking appointment of one of our clinicians for any of these report services to ensure that they are able to accept the appointment as well as to include the service contract in the court appointment order.

Supervised Visitation Reports

Our clinicians conduct supervised visitation in the community for the purpose of observing and reporting on the parent/child interaction, parenting skills, and any other areas of concern specific to each family. The number of supervised visitation sessions is typically outlined by Court order.

Child Custody Evaluations/Guardian ad Litem (“GAL”)

Our clinicians may be appointed by the Court as a neutral court investigator/evaluator to conduct assessments related to custody, parenting plan, removal, and other areas of concern. We have clinicians with experience in Massachusetts as both a Category E GAL and a Category F GAL. These investigations typically include interviews of the parties and their children, relevant collaterals, record review, and parent/child interaction observations.

Parenting Plan Consultant/Co-parent Consultant

SDFS clinicians frequently serve as independent neutral consultants hired by both parties to provide recommendations on parenting plan or parenting disputes. Prior to starting work, these consultants will work collaboratively with the parties and/or their attorneys to define the scope of the consulting work. Often, the scope includes written recommendations for the parties to consider and an agreement from the parties that the consultant will not become court-involved in an effort to facilitate settlement discussions. The consultant typically requires a joint meeting with both attorneys, individual meetings with the parties, possible conversations with the children, and possible collateral calls. After conducting this initial review of the circumstances, the consultant then meets jointly with the attorneys and/or parties to discuss their findings, identify areas of concern or areas ripe for further investigation, and potential recommendations for the parties to consider. The parties then may provide additional feedback or additional requests for the consultant to further consider. This process is a collaborative process and is appropriate for cases where the parties want to reach an amicable resolution outside of court, but can use help and direction from a neutral provider.

Guardian for Therapeutic Privilege

Privileged information is confidential information that cannot be introduced into evidence in a court proceeding by testimony or document. At times, professionals working with high-conflict families, such as a Guardian ad Litem or a Parenting Coordinator, may wish to speak to the child’s therapist to inform their work and recommendations for the family. These professionals are prohibited from speaking to a child’s therapist without the psychotherapist-patient privilege being waived by the Court. This typically requires the appointment of a Guardian to conduct an investigation into the nature of therapy and whether the therapeutic privilege should be waived.

Voice of the Child(ren) Report

Often, children are stuck in a loyalty-bind and may struggle to share with their parents their unique perspective. Older children may crave more input in major decision-making regarding their lives.

As parents make plans for post-separation life, social science research shows value in children expressing their views and having an opportunity to provide input in the creation of these plans. Interestingly, parents are also more likely to settle their disputes, and children are more likely to follow these plans, if parents understand the input from the child and take care to reasonably incorporate their child’s voice.

With a Voice of the Child(ren) Report, a clinician at SDFS will create a report to share with parents and their respective counsel regarding the child(ren)’s perspective on a range of issues identified through various meetings with the child(ren), parents, and counsel. The clinician role is to ascertain the child’s independent views on their life and family issues. A Voice of the Child(ren) Report is not a thorough mental health assessment nor is it a complete analysis of the child’s needs and/or best interests. The report serves as a glimpse into the child’s viewpoint which may be informative to parents as they consider their post-separation plans. This report is for children seven (7) years or older. What you can expect from a Voice of the Child Report is:

• Review of Relevant Materials

• Brief individual meetings with both parents

• Independent meetings (and joint, if appropriate) with each child. There are typically 2-3 independent meetings per child.

• Report of the child’s expressed wishes and recommendations to help resolve ongoing co-parenting disputes