An earlier blog talked about “views of the child” reports.  The Family Law Act also allows judges to order a report on the needs of the child, and the ability of the parties (usually the parents) to satisfy those needs.  Every such report will cover all the “best interests  of the child” as set out in the Family Law Act:

·         Child’s health and emotional well-being

·         Relationships between the child and others

·         History of the child’s care

·         Child’s need for stability, given its age and development

·         The ability of the parent (etc.) to exercise their responsibilities

·         Any issues of family violence

·         The need for parents (etc.) to cooperate

·         Any civil or criminal actions related to the child’s safety

The Act says they are to be done by a “family justice counsellor, a social worker, or another person”.  In practice, they are done by clinical counsellors, psychologists, and psychiatrists. 

These reports are extremely detailed.  They typically run 50+ pages.  They usually take months (sometimes more than a year) to be completed.  They usually cost between $10,000 and $35,000.  They are almost always done as joint reports: one expert for both parties.  This means that in most cases, both parties are stuck with the report.  Occasionally there will be dueling report: one from Mom’s expert, one from Dad’s. 

A good “needs of the child” report will cut through all the bitterness, distrust, and outright lies by the parents.  It will figure out the child’s real issues, rather than what a parent coaches the child to say.  It will give practical recommendations on how the parenting should be structured moving forward.  Everything from how many days the child is with Mom or Dad, who decides about activities, to schooling, etc.  A bad report will take the side of one parent and ignore (or slag) the other, give cookie-cutter recommendations which are impractical or unrealistic.  Nearly all reports will be rubber-stamped by the judge.

It's vital that the report be done by someone competent.  Not someone whose main practice is assessing violent sex offenders, who dabbles in parenting reports (true).  Not someone who decides parenting by comparing the skin colour of the child to those of Mom and Dad (yup, it happened).  Not someone whose own bitter breakup distorts their assessment (don’t get me started).

An experienced family lawyer will know all the (roughly 2 dozen) experts in this area.  It’s vital that your parenting report is done by a qualified, unbiased, thoughtful expert.  One who can develop rapport with your child.  Who can listen to both you and the other parent of your child, and form accurate conclusions.  Not one who will be bamboozled by lies.  One who will get to the truth.  And one who will do so quickly enough for the report to help – not drag it out until it’s pointless.

The lawyers at Clear Legal have been advising parents about parenting reports for a collective 45 years.  We know the experts.  We know the issues.  We provide clear advice to our clients on every aspect of parenting reports.