THE BLOSSOMING community of protective parents and advocates seeking reform in the nation’s family courts offers several recommendations to address the problems plaguing the system. For custody proceedings that involve child-abuse claims, they suggest the following five essential changes:
• When conducting child-sexual-abuse evaluations in disputed custody cases, replace the single guardian ad litem with a multi-disciplinary team similar to the team many state prosecutors use in criminal investigations. This group would consist of professionals with expertise not only in mental health generally, but also in family violence, child abuse, and trauma specifically.
• Mandate guidelines for all sex-abuse evaluators detailing the proper review of pertinent documentation, the impartial interviewing of witnesses, and the appropriate uses of psychological testing. Such standards should also force evaluators to present all the evidence collected, not just the evidence that supports their own conclusions.
• Require frequent, mandatory training on spousal and child abuse for all family-court personnel. Most especially, these educational seminars should illuminate the tactics batterers and child abusers often employ in the courtroom.
• Ban the use of bogus psychological disorders, such as "parental-alienation syndrome," under the family court’s judicial protocol for contested custody cases involving sex-abuse claims.
• Establish independent statewide offices to serve as ombudspersons for the nation’s family courts so litigants can file complaints and receive resolutions. These offices would also audit family courts periodically to ensure that problems are being effectively addressed.
― KL
Additional Reading"A Little Girl’s Hell," a detailed account by Susan Goldsmith of Idelle Clarke’s custody battle, published in the now-defunct Los Angeles New Times. Available online at http://home.earthlink.net/~idelc.
Small Justice, Little Justice, Boston University film professor Garland Waller’s disturbing documentary about how the nation’s family courts fail to protect women and their children. Order it online at www.smalljustice.com or by calling (800) 553-8336.
"Girl, Interrupted," a blockbuster SF Weekly article by Bernice Yeung on the case of Alanna Krause, a 19-year-old who’s suing her child therapist, her guardian ad Litem, and her father for the childhood abuse that she endured after her father won custody of her. Read it online at www.sfweekly.com.
"Misdiagnosis," an insightful article by David S. Bernstein, published in CommonWealth magazine, on the lack of doctors trained to diagnosis child sexual abuse in Massachusetts. Find the story online at www.massinc.org.
United for Justice, a grassroots group of mothers who’ve lost custody of their children in the family courts and their supporters, with a Web site at www.unitedforjustice.org.
Justice for Children, a Houston-based child-advocacy organization that offers legal aid to abused children and promotes children’s rights, with a Web site at www.jfcadvocacy.org.
Leadership Council for Mental Health, Justice, and the Media, a Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania–based organization of mental-health, legal, and public-policy scholars dedicated to correcting the misuse of psychological science to further victimize abused and neglected children. View its Web site at www.leadershipcouncil.org.
"Family Court Report 2002," California NOW’s 134-page survey on the state of the family courts in California. Access the entire report online at the organization’s Web site, www.canow.org/fam.html.
"Battered Mothers Speak Out," a human-rights report on domestic violence and child custody in the Massachusetts family courts, by the Wellesley Centers for Women. Download it at the center’s Web site, www.wcwonline.org.
— KL
No comments:
Post a Comment