Transgender Children and Child Custody: Research and Practice

Family court matters involving transgender children and their caregivers have received increased attention in the media but limited attention in the scholarly literature. This session will examine the experiences of families with transgender and gender-diverse children who are involved in custody disputes and navigating the family court system. The impact of gender affirming and non-affirming family members on children’s well-being will be discussed, as will the role of family court professionals. Panelists will share research findings and professional experiences and will engage in conversation about legal and policy questions and implications.

1. Working with Child Custody Evaluations

Judicial Officers Track

Cases involving contested allegations of child abuse, intimate partner violence, and substance misuse are particularly likely to wind up in a custody evaluation. This session will focus on the role of the evaluator through the lens of the judicial officer, beginning with the initial order through testifying in court. Presenters will focus on Ohio’s standards for child custody evaluation and AFCC Guidelines for Examining Intimate Partner Violence.

2. Structure Reduces Anxiety: Creating Structures to Reduce Family Conflict

Structure means limits and associated consequences, boundaries that define space, routines that define time, and roles that define relationships. The presenters apply this conceptualization to (1) parenting, (2) parenting plans, (3) parent-child enmeshment, (4) co-parenting and parenting coordination, (5) professional guidelines and standards, and (6) court orders. Participants are encouraged to carefully review how they create and manage professional structures to improve child-centered outcomes and reduce risk of burn-out and vicarious trauma.

3. Practical Takeaways from the 2020 AFCC Series on Parent-Child Contact Problems

This workshop will highlight several key takeaways from the 2020 special issue of Family Court Review, and webinar series on parent-child contact problems. The presenters will offer several simple practice changes, designed to promote early identification, intervention, and better outcomes for families with parent-child contact problems. Presenters will discuss roles of lawyers, judges, parenting evaluators, guardians ad litem, and therapists in implementing strategies to intervene with these families quickly and comprehensively. Anecdotal data and case outcomes will be discussed.

4. Evidence of Parent Education Program Effects to Protect Children after Divorce

This workshop is canceled

5. Hearing the Voice of the LGBTQ+ Child

The voices of LGBTQ+ children must be heard to ensure their welfare at home, school, and community. The presenters will explore how prejudice affects LGBTQ+ children and provide data regarding homeless LGBTQ+ youth, LGBTQ+ children in foster care, and the rates of suicide amongst LGBTQ+ youth. Participants will learn terms needed to communicate effectively with LGBTQ+ children and their families. Participants will be provided a review of current laws affecting the LGBTQ+ community and hear the firsthand experiences of a transgender child and his mother.

There are no handouts

6. Predictors and Outcomes of Mediation for Separating Parents Reporting High IPV

This session will present research on parties reporting high levels of intimate partner violence (IPV) and randomly assigned to shuttle or videoconferencing mediation, including: IPV level as a predictor of mediation attendance and case outcomes (e.g., agreement, conflict); differences in outcomes for cases reaching or not reaching a mediation agreement (e.g., family functioning); and effects (e.g., re-litigation) of arrangements aimed at reducing conflict being included in the document resolving issues. Findings highlight factors to consider when providing mediation to parties reporting high levels of IPV.

There are no handouts

7. What’s a Judge to Do?

Judicial Officers Track

The question, “Is it abuse or is it alienation?” has been posed for nearly two decades, and family court judicial officers frequently find themselves confronted with this challenge. This session examines the trap of falling into this false binary, and explores how judges can dig beneath these surface questions when confronted with an either/or approach. Presenters will explore the multi-factorial approach to resist-refuse cases and focus on safe, supportive resolutions that are in the best interests of children.

8. How Do You Know a Child Is Telling the Truth about Abuse in a Custody Matter?

Child custody disputes involving child abuse are among of the most difficult family court cases. This workshop will discuss the research, experience, and practical application of the law and theory when examining the issue of child abuse in all its forms when it arises in the context of child custody litigation. This session will address the intricacies of investigation and analysis of the facts commonly presented in these cases.

9. “Feeling Caught” and Family Communication Patterns: Theory and Skills Training

According to Family Communication Patterns theory (FCP), the family serves as the primary socialization agent for children, and families create shared social realities through communication patterns. There are four types of communication orientations in families: protective, pluralistic, consensual, and laissez-faire. These orientations have significant impacts on how parents communicate with and about their children. These impacts are exacerbated when conflict enters the family system. This workshop teaches participants how to recognize these communication patterns. The workshop also addresses the past 20 years of co-parenting and stepfamily communication research — qualitative research where children overwhelmingly list “feeling caught” between parents as the most difficult dynamic for them to manage. Participants will learn tools to better address common communication dynamics and pitfalls to better address the needs of children in high-conflict divorce and parenting situations.

10. Development of a Resource Center in Geauga County Juvenile Court

This workshop will present the creation of the Victor Y. Matthews Family Life Improvement Resource Center in Geauga County Juvenile Court. The Resource Center provides early assistance and evaluation to families navigating child custody and parenting time issues and helps connect them with necessary services. The Resource Center creates an environment that encourages family participation and self-determination. The goal is to help families remain child focused and achieve positive outcomes while navigating the court process.

11. #ShouldYouHearMeNow? Under the Influence and Voice of the Child Reports

This workshop is canceled

12. No Cent Left Behind: Navigating Parenthood as a Single Wage Earner

This workshop is canceled

13. The Pandemic Is Over: Now What?

Judicial Officers Track

After more than a year of masks, social distancing, and Zoom, family law professionals are anxious to get back to face-to-face hearings, settlement conferences, and mediations. But before we leap into old habits, what have we learned from our time away? Are there technology-based remote opportunities that will carry over for more effective administration of justice? Are there new processes that will be more effective, and perhaps less threatening for vulnerable people, such as IPV survivors, children, or non-English speakers? Or do remote operations exacerbate their disadvantage?

There are no handouts

14. Custody Evaluations: Are Quality and Affordability in Conflict?

An AFCC Task Force is reviewing the Model Standards of Practice for Child Custody Evaluation. The presenters, all of whom are members of the Task Force, will discuss concerns regarding two objectives that may seem to be in conflict; namely, the objective of conducting reliable evaluations the findings of which are of value to the families, the attorneys, and the courts, and the objective of ensuring the availability of evaluation services to often underserved populations.

15. Representing Children in International Cases: Tips and Tricks from the US and UK

This workshop is canceled

16. Parenting Plan Assessments in a Pandemic: The Feasibility of Remote Technologies

The COVID-19 pandemic required social distancing and limited in-person contact. This necessitated the parenting plan assessment community (also known as child custody evaluators) to consider remote technologies for data collection. This workshop will report on the findings of two surveys administered at different times during the pandemic to explore the views of parenting plan assessors. Presenters will review the benefits and limitations of conducting remote parenting plan assessments. Several ethical considerations and obstacles to the collection and interpretation of data will be discussed, including confidentiality, safety, and reliability of the observations.

17. Online Programs: What Does the Evidence Show?

This workshop will examine two online parenting programs and present findings about their impact on children and parents. Part I will present Kids Between, an online program that teaches emotional literacy, mindfulness, emotional regulation, and stress-reduction with evidencebased methods. Part II will present findings from a randomized trial of the web-based New Beginnings Program (eNBP), an adaptation from an in-person program designed to strengthen parenting and reduce interpersonal conflict. Preliminary pre-post data from Kids Between and findings from eNBP randomized controlled trials will be presented.

18. Evidence-Informed Intervention: Science without Overreach

What scientific evidence should be considered when deciding what services to provide for families with complex problems? Is there a difference between “evidence-informed” and “intuitive” treatment? What are the dangers in blurring distinctions or ignoring non-randomized controlled evidence? Presenters will discuss the heated debate on these issues, essential elements of evidence-informed services, available science, dangers of rhetorical overreach and oversimplified “rules,” and approaches for conducting and explaining treatment plans. Tools for mental health professionals, judicial officers, and attorneys will be addressed.

Task Force on Model Standards of Practice for Child Custody Evaluation

Welcome

Can You Hear Me Now? Can You See Me Now?

Families involved in family law processes often struggle to be heard and seen. This session will explore the impact of variables including culture, family violence, child maltreatment, and child and adult special needs on the experience of involvement in various processes. Presenters will explore how to look beyond the surface to create an inclusive process that fully considers the voices of children and families to improve outcomes for all.

19. Family Courts: Reality and Process

This workshop is canceled

20. Substance Use and Parenting: Best Practices for Family Court Practitioners

This presentation will focus on how to manage family law cases when substance use dynamics are present. As a result of stigma and a lack of understanding about addiction, courts often impose conditions and interventions that are inconsistent with best practices, the neuroscience of addiction, and empirical research. Court responses that are not evidencebased can harm the parent-child relationship, negatively impact coparenting, and destabilize family systems. This presentation will help attorneys, judges, and mental health professionals establish realistic expectations, effectively manage a recurrence or relapse, and implement safeguards that can be used to protect children and parents. Practical, researchinformed tips will also be provided for attorneys to use when approaching these challenging cases.

21. Risk Assessment in a Relocation Evaluation Involving Two Children on the Autistic Spectrum

Multi-factor risk assessment models grounded in empirical research should be relied upon when the court and evaluators are examining challenging issues such as special needs children or relocation. This workshop will first present Pickar and Kaufman’s Special Needs Child Risk Assessment Model and Austin’s Risk Relocation Assessment Model. Then, the presenter will demonstrate how these models were applied in a complex parenting plan evaluation involving a divorced parent’s petition to relocate with two children on the autistic spectrum.

22. Parent Coaching as a Dispute Resolution Process

The presenters launched a pilot program in January 2021 to bring parent coaching to the Delaware County Domestic Relations Court. The coaching process helps parents to determine how to meet their parenting and coparenting goals. Approximately 40 families have engaged in the program. In this session, the presenters will share the varied outcomes and processes used to work with the participants. Through coaching, many parents have achieved full or partial settlements.

23. Accounting for Safety and Resiliency When Crafting Appropriate Parenting Plans

Participants in this session will leave with parenting plans with embedded safety features that can be customized and used where families have experienced violence. In addition, the attendees will learn to differentiate the impact of violence on children and the victim; understand how the family may appear to a court and how to get past that roadblock; and identify ways to choose which safety measures to use.

24. Terminology Regarding Parental Alienation: Searching for a Consensus

The cacophony of terminology regarding parental alienation theory greatly hampers research. The presenters investigated whether practicing child custody evaluators generally agree on definitions and terminology regarding parental alienation and related topics. They polled study participants regarding terms such as: contact refusal, parental alienation, alienating behaviors, levels of severity of parental alienation, and alienating behaviors, and the Five-Factor Model for identifying parental alienation. There was a high level of agreement regarding the proposed definitions.

25. Managing Values-Based Disputes in the Context of Family Law

Discussions about values (e.g., politics or religions) often devolve into passionate — and sometimes fraught — discourse. “Values-Based” or “Identity-Based” disputes can seem unsolvable and polarizing. These disputes can be even more challenging for judicial officers, practitioners, or parties, when an opinion that threatens impartiality. By using ADR practices, such as interest identification, reframing, and the idea of building practical “other-awareness” through “self-awareness,” practitioners can foster mutual understanding and an effective resolution between parties with differing points of view. Join this workshop for a review of best practices for dispute-resolvers in situations where values or identity play a significant role.

There are no handouts

26. Trapped in a Golden Cage: The Divorce Story of Female Immigrants in the US

In this session, the presenter will share her experience providing divorce mediation involving women who immigrated to the US and married an American partner, finding themselves in a chaotic situation, alone, in a foreign country, not able to work in their previous profession, not able to support themselves, and unable to return to their country of origin and families. Cultural differences between spouses, affecting their marriage life and their divorce process, will be discussed.

27. Gathering, Interpreting, and Archiving Social Media Data

Evaluators and attorneys report that they don’t know what to do with social media data. They report they don’t understand the apps. They express frustration when presented with screenshots of TikTok and Snapchat. This workshop will describe some of the benefits and limitations of using data from social media sites in the context of child custody litigation. Participants will discuss how to collect and put into context such data, and how to address potentially complicating factors such assessing for faked/ fraudulent data, and how to make use of such data in a forensically defensible manner.

28. Technology and the Courts: Expanding Access to Survivors

Survivors of intimate partner abuse who seek a temporary protective order often encounter barriers in the process of accessing family violence courts. These barriers were amplified by the COVID-19 pandemic that disproportionately affect low-income families and children of color and those in rural areas. This workshop will explore ways in which technology can be implemented to bring a voice to families and children experiencing intimate partner abuse during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond.

There are no handouts

29. Addressing Limited Services for Parents in Rural Areas by Engaging Communities

This workshop is canceled