The best-interest-of-the-child variables in custody evaluations and their usefulness to the decision-making of custody evaluators, litigants, and judges.

by Ruth Ann Wright

This study investigates normative practices of child custody evaluators in preparing child custody evaluations (CCEs) and the effects of best-interest-of-the-child (BIC) variables on decision-making of evaluators, litigants, and judges. Public courts records in Tampa, Florida, yielded 230 CCEs and their corresponding final custody outcomes (FCOs), which were coded using a 150-question code book and 7 additional questions regarding the FCOs. Normative practices of evaluators were explored using the Association of Family Conciliation Courts' (AFCC) Model Standards and expected forensic practices identified in the literature. Areas of strength (all CCEs were court ordered, diverse methods of gathering data, knowledge of the law) and areas of concern (low educational levels, no documentation addressing lack of confidentiality or multiple relationships) were both identified.;The 230 CCEs yielded 370 cases for a binary recursive classification and regression analysis. Classification and Regression Trees software (CART) developed predictive models (i.e., decision trees), determining which BIC variables most effectively predicted the 3 categories (Win-Lose-Draw) of FCOs in the decision-making of evaluators, litigants, and judges. As a corollary to the model development, CART produced lists of BIC variables, weighted in order of importance, for each decision-making process. The specific BIC variable of the amount of contact a litigant had with the child following divorce and during the custody dispute, as well as the groups of BIC variables regarding new partners of the litigants and various issues of child abuse and neglect, were found to be highly important variables to all three types of decision-makers. BIC variables of lesser importance, including drug and alcohol abuse, domestic violence, and evaluators' recommendations, had varying importance levels depending upon the decision-maker.;Key Words: Custody evaluation, Best-interest-of-the-child, Judicial decision-making, Custody evaluators' recommendations, Litigants' stipulations

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