Linking Judicial Decision-making in Joint Custody Awards with Evidence-based Practice: It Is Possible

This is the published version of an article published by Thomson Reuters in Canadian Family Law Quarterly. This article is reproduced with written permission of the publisher. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.Significant changes have occurred during the past several years in the judicial decision-making in custody and access proceedings. However, these shifts in law have not always been grounded in scientific evidence. The desirability and efficacy of shared parenting continues to be largely ideological and social science research lacks a clear consensus regarding the factors that predict the success or failure of joint custody arrangements for children and families following divorce and separation. This study utilized a grounded theory approach to explore 68 joint custody awards between 1998 and 2002 in Ontario to facilitate an understanding between the legal and social science information. Themes are highlighted that link judicial decision-making within the context of relevant scholarly literature. The linkages provide for more informed decision making/or mental health professionals, lawyers, and the judiciary when examining joint custody arrangements in the best interest of children