Partner violence and risk assessment in child custody evaluations

How to integrate the problem of partner violence into a child custody evaluation is analyzed within a risk-assessment approach. The research literature on partner violence is reviewed to examine the issues of establishing a base rate for partner violence and its relative frequencies for both genders. Theoretical typologies of partner violence are reviewed and anew typology presentedthat is more suitable to the predictive task in the custody evaluation. A model of how the evaluator should approach partner violence is described, with an integration of a risk-assessment approach to child developmental outcomes as associated with custody and parenting time arrangements and avio-lence risk assessment of a perpetratodparent. PROBLEM OF PARTNER VIOLENCE AND CHILD CUSTODY Spousal maltreatment and violence is a complex and contentious issue that sometimes arises in high-conflict child custody cases. Courts sometimes call on mental health profes-sionals to assist the trier of fact in the decision-making process on child custody and parental access to children. The roles of custody evaluator, mediator/arbitrator, special advocate, spe-cial master, and guardian ad litem are occupied by mental health and legal practitioners in this assist role to the judge. The issue ofhow to address the problem of spousal maltreatment is extremely important in best interests of the child custody determinations (CCDs) becaus