Parent and Mental Status Evaluations in Child Custody Cases

15 South Grady Way,Renton WA 98057

12 February, 2022

Description

Learn how to write both evidenced based and culturally responsive Parent Evaluations and Mental Status evaluations in Child Custody matters. Parent Evaluations and Mental Status Evaluations are requested, or court ordered in dependency cases where there is a question as to the parent or custodial guardian’s capacity to parent children who have been subject to child abuse or neglect. Intended workshop outcomes include refining critical thinking, understanding of all elements of diagnostic assessment and diagnosis as it relates to child welfare and custody decisions in dependency cases. Examine and expand understanding of the definition of Culture in Diagnosis as defined in the DSM-V and related implications in parenting and mental health status evaluations. Explore the methodological challenges in this work across gender and ethnic communities. Workshop Objectives Identification of key elements that would necessitate requesting a parenting, psychological or mental status evaluation Examination of current trends in diagnosis of mental illness, child abuse, and related factors in but not limited to Child Welfare cases Develop a general working knowledge of the use of diagnosis in mental health evaluations Discuss the factors (i.e. individual bias) that may influence the evaluation process About the presenter: Dr. Carmela Washington-Harvey is nationally certified as a Mental Health Forensic Evaluator and Child Custody Evaluator and works with state, federal and private individuals and agencies to provide Psychological/Social Evaluations, Parenting Evaluations, individual and family counseling, reconciliation therapy and parent instruction. She is also an expert witness in both Family and Dependency Court on child custody matters.  Dr. Washington-Harvey’s private practice includes working with families and individuals that are struggling with issues that include trauma, addiction (e.g., gambling, sexual), dysfunctional behavior, ADHD, ADD to diminish/extinguish the effects of said behavior on individual self-esteem and restore or move towards increased awareness and individual empowerment. Workshop Agenda 8:00 am – Introduction and review of workshop expectations 8:30 am - Examination of current trends in diagnosis of mental illness, child abuse, and related factors in but not limited to Child Custody cases · Discuss the use of mental health diagnosis in parenting and mental health evaluations (MSE) 10-10:15 break 10:15 am-12 noon - Identification of key factors that would necessitate requesting a parenting, psychological or mental status evaluation in child custody matters · How to determine the validity of these factors (testing and interpretation, guidelines/protocols, etc.) 12 noon – 1 lunch 1pm – 2:45pm – Evaluation process · Discuss the factors (i.e. individual bias) that may influence the evaluation process · Examine and refine questions that may be generally used referral letters to increase the likelihood information requested is addressed in evaluations include and consider the influence culture, family history, etc. in diagnoses and recommendations · Parenting and MSE outline · Use of relevant testing that addresses the questions posed by the court, agency, etc. · Interpretation of test results and goodness of fit 2:45 – 3 pm break 3-5 pm - Case Study and identification of what might or might not be included in a parenting evaluation · Writing to your audience and what is needed to support your findings, recommendations · Importance of accurately portraying the client’s voice in the evaluation (balance between interpretation and voice) 5 pm workshop ends (evaluations collected, and certificates given to participants)