FREE 10+ Custody Evaluation Report Samples [ Challenges, Child, Control ]

There is no perfect marriage and it is sometimes destructive to both couples that they decide to go their separate ways for growth and starting anew. With the marriage now voided, the children’s welfare is put at risk not knowing which setting to follow moving forward because of their parents not being able to live together anymore. In order to resolve this issue of broken families, a custody evaluation report is conducted by experts to come up with a custody settlement that works well for both parents and especially the children.

The results of the report are the possible plans that are presented to the court that serves as a mediation tool to reach an agreement for child custody and visitation rights that both parents can agree upon so that their child can grow up normally and has a sound mind even if they live in different houses. What goes inside of a custody evaluation report? What are the procedures that the family has to go through to come up with the best possible new norms for them? If you are a social worker or any professional that works with children, our free and downloadable Custody Evaluation Report Samples can get you started with a similar report. Keep reading. 

10+ Custody Evaluation Report Samples

1. Custody Evaluation Informed Consent Report

2. Order Custody Evaluation Report

3. Consulting Custody Evaluation Case Report

4. Commitment Custody Evaluation Report

5. Custody Parenting Time Evaluation Report

6. Order Appointing Custody Evaluator Report

7. Child Custody Evaluation Sheet Report

8. Informal Custody Trial Evaluation Report

9. Confidential Child Custody Evaluation Report

10. Child Custody Investigator Evaluation Report

11. Court Ordered Custody Evaluation Report

Consideration of Conducting a Custody Evaluation 

• Choosing qualified evaluators

The person who will conduct the evaluation must have a proven experience in dealing with child custody cases because their judgment and recommendations will become the basis for both the parties or the ruling court to come up with the best solution to the issue. Depending on the complexity of the situation, the cost for evaluation varies and parents might want to get an expert in the field. There are times that the court will choose an evaluator to handle the custody case but it is best that both parents should decide on who they want to handle their situation. 

• Evaluation process

Parents should expect to undergo a series of interviews, talks, counseling, visitations, and even exams in order for the evaluators to measure their emotional, psychological, and mental states. This is relevant in the evaluation because the results of these tests and interviews will determine the readiness and capacity of parents to raise their children in a setting different from what they are used to. This will also help the evaluators to design the best custody norms to implement based on the mental and psychological capacities of the parents. 

• Confidentially

The evaluation will most likely not become confidential because the foregoing results of every test and evaluation are being studied and discussed by at least two professionals one of whom is the main evaluator. It is important that the parents are ready for this sort of intrusion to their privacy. All the results are readily available for the court and the attorneys handling the case. What parents can do, however, is to choose which information they can divulge that will not prove to be a problem for evaluators in the long run.

• Parents’ Approach to Evaluation

The legal counsels of both parents are expected to guide and brief their clients on how the evaluations will be conducted. They can advise the parents on how to act naturally and what questions to ask in every evaluation and assessment so that they will not find themselves lost and not being able to participate properly. While each party wants to be favored more by the court over the other, one thing that they must think about is the takeaways their children will get from the whole process.

• What to tell the children

Perhaps, the most crucial part of the whole evaluation process is how aware the children are of their current situation. This goes to say that parents are expected to find ways how to tell their children of their current setting as a family. It is inevitable that children will develop negative feelings but how parents make them feel that amidst everything that they have to go through, everything is fine and will be back to normal. The evaluators (who are proven to be the experts on child psychology) should also be able to tell how parents should say in all honesty the whole situation in a way that they would understand and will not cause them stress or worse, depression. After all, their goal is still to provide the best life for their children.