Services

Evaluative Procedures

Brief Focused Assessment (BFA)

Child Custody Evaluation is a process in which a mental health professional, typically a psychologist, evaluates you, your child, and your co-parent to make a recommendation to the court regarding custody and visitation. The purpose of the evaluation is: to assess the family and make recommendations on the relevant custody matters which will address the child(ren)’s best interests.

BFA is similar to a comprehensive child custody evaluation, though it is not a replacement when a CCE is
necessary. A Brief Focused Assessment usually addresses 1 to 3 specific issues that are raised by the court. BFAs
are an efficient and cost effective tool in many areas of custody dispute to assist the parents, counsel, and the
court in effective resolution of the issues.

What the Brief Focused Assessment entails?

BFAs are limited in scope and seen to be a “legitimate, parsimonious, and sufficient process” to help resolve custody disputes.
After clarification of the issues, the procedures for a BFA are tailored to the referral questions.
The benefit of a BFA is that the process is based on the specific area(s) of inquiry.

BFAs can provide useful information to aid both parents, attorneys and judges in resolving various custody related disputes.
BFAs can be done in less time, cost less and provide concise information compared to a comprehensive child custody evaluation.
A BFA typically involves one individual interview with each parent.

NOTE: It is possible, based on the nature of the referral, that the child(ren) may not be involved.

Results of the BFA

Necessary collateral sources of information are obtained;
A concise written report with recommendations is completed;
A description of the issues to be investigated further;
An explanation of the logic and rationale that supports the findings gathered during the BFA;
Recommendations which follow from the findings;
The clarification of any areas of concern that were discovered.