Child Custody Ethics

Read the Guidelines for Child Custody Evaluations in Family Law Proceedings and review the pertinent sections of the APA ethics code (linked in Resources) and New York State statutes on child custody determination, then complete the following:

o Detail any unique concerns and requirements in the statutes for New York State.

o Outline the basic components that should be incorporated in a child custody evaluation in order to satisfy the standards of all three documents.

o Describe circumstances under which you might tempted to deviate from these standards and guidelines.

o Explain what might you do when conducting these evaluations to decrease risk of board complaints against your license to practice psychology.

• Child Protection Ethics

Read the Guidelines for Psychological Evaluations in Child Protection Matters and review the pertinent sections of the APA ethics code (linked in Resources) and the statutes on child protection matters for New York State.

o Identify any unique concerns and requirements in New York State statutes.

o Outline the basic components that should be incorporated in a termination of parental rights proceeding in order to satisfy the standards of all three documents.

o Describe circumstances that might tempt you to deviate from these standards and guidelines.

• Juvenile Transfer

Review New York State statutes regarding juvenile transfer to adult court (sometimes referred to as a juvenile waiver or juvenile bindover) and then respond to the following:

o What is the juvenile transfer procedure in New York State?

o Under which circumstances is the transfer mandatory and under which circumstances does the juvenile court judge have discretion?

o In your opinion, is the procedure in your state consistent with the overarching mission of juvenile court? Defend your position.

o What is the role of forensic psychologists in these evaluations?