1.0 Law & Legal CLE Credit A/V Approval # Recording Date May 5, 2017 Recording Availability February 16, 2018

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1 1.0 Law & Legal CLE Credit A/V Approval # Recording Date May 5, 2017 Recording Availability February 16, 2018 Meeting Location Date Time Topic King County Bar Association 1200 Fifth Avenue - uite 700 eattle, WA Friday, May 5, :10 PM to 1:30 PM Parenting Evaluators Analysis: How We Get to Conclusions/Recommendations Including the Role and Integration of Psychological Testing AGENDA 12:10 PM Introductions/Lunch 12:20 PM Review of April 2017 ection Meeting Minutes Presentation: Parenting Evaluators Analysis: How We Get to Conclusions/Recommendations Including the Role and Integration of Psychological Testing, by Dr. Marnee W. Milner, Licensed Psychologist and Private Practice Attorney 1:30 PM Evaluations & Adjourn PEAKER BIOGRAPHY: Dr. Marnee W. Milner, Licensed Psychologist and Private Practice Attorney - Dr. Milner is a licensed psychologist with a specialization in forensic evaluations and neuropsychological assessment/evaluations. Dr. Milner earned her juris doctorate and doctorate of philosophy from Golden Gate University chool of Law and Pacific Graduate chool of Psychology. After internship in clinical psychology and neuropsychology at the Veterans Affairs Palo Alto Health Care ystem and a postdoctoral fellowship in geriatric neuropsychology at Brown University/Butler Hospital, Dr. Milner practiced as a family law litigator. In 2009, Dr. Milner worked with active duty military and veterans with traumatic brain injuries as one of the clinical neuropsychologists in the Polytrauma Rehabilitation Center at the VA Palo Alto Health Care ystem. ince permanently relocating to eattle at the end of 2009, Dr. Milner conducts neuropsychological, psychological and parenting evaluations. he is a trained mediator and collaborative law practitioner and practices dispute resolution including mediation, parent coordination, and post decree co- parent coaching.

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3 Parenting Evaluation Analysis: How we arrive at conclusions, the role and integration of psychological testing Marnee W. Milner, JD, PhD King County Bar Association May 5, 2017

4 Primary function of PE Assess the relationships between each child and all adults who perform a caretaking role with the child. (AFCC tandard 5.9). To assist in determining the psychological best interest of the child. (APA Guidelines 1.1). pecifically, the evaluation focuses upon parenting attributes, the child s psychological needs, and the resulting fit. (APA Guidelines 1.3). RCW : residential provisions to encourage each parent to maintain a loving, stable and nurturing relationship with the child consistent with the child s developmental level and the family s social and economic circumstances.

5 Essential elements of the evaluation Interviews/written data from Parent Child Third Party Collateral Observations of Interaction Children Evaluator Materials Reviewed Pleadings Reports: medical, mental health, education, police

6 Conclusions and Recommendations conclusions and recommendations should be derived from data of reasonable relevance and quality to substantiate the opinion. (parta,. in Parenting Plan Evaluations) ocial science research must be the foundation of mental health experts conclusions and opinions about parents and children in litigated time-sharing cases. (Kuehnle & Drozd in Parenting Plan Evaluations)

7 How to get to conclusions? How was the data analyzed? How were the substantive issues addressed? Do the formulated opinions correspond to the underlying data?

8 Analysis of Data Each case is unique. All evaluations should take into account Child development Factors associated with children s adjustment to parents separation and time sharing Parenting styles and reciprocity Weight What weight did the evaluator place on collaterals? What weight did the evaluator place on psychological testing?

9 Hypothesis testing Examine the issue or problem at hand from all reasonable perspectives and seek information that will differentially test plausible rival hypotheses (APA Forensic Guidelines 9.01). Evaluators shall be prepared to explain how different sources and different types of information were considered and weighted in the formation of their opinions (AFCC tandard 11.4).

10 Evaluator bias v distortion Confirmatory bias - the inclination to seek information that will confirm an initially generated hypothesis and the disinclination to seek information that will disconfirm that hypothesis. Confirmatory distortion - the process by which an evaluator, motivated by the desire to bolster a favored hypothesis, intentionally engages in selective reporting or skewed interpretation of data, thereby producing a distorted picture of the family whose custody dispute is before the court. Martindale, D. (2008). Confirmatory Bias and Confirmatory Distortion. Journal of Child Custody. 2 (1/2),

11 Addressing substantive issues Complex special issues: Allegations of sexual abuse Gatekeeping Intimate Partner Violence (i.e. Austin & Drozd, 2012) Alienation/Estrangement Relocation (i.e. Austin, 2008) Hypothetically, if there was intimate partner violence, a child custody evaluator collects information related to the potential impact of intimate partner violence on each parent s capacity to parent and/or co-parent (AFCC Guidelines #10).

12 Do opinions correspond to underlying data? how your work! How does the scientific literature play into the PE conclusions or recommendations? What are the limitations to the opinions or the data or the literature?

13 Recommendations with options If the court determines A then the PE recommends this course of action If the court determines B then the PE recommends this other course of action

14 Psychological testing The use of formal testing is within the discretion of the evaluator (WAC ; AFCC tandard 6.1). Forensic practitioners use assessment instruments whose validity and reliability have been established for use with members of the population assessed. When such validity and reliability have not been established, forensic practitioners consider and describe the strengths and limitations of their findings. (APA Forensic Guideline 10.02, AFCC tandard 6.3 and 6.4).

15 Psychological Tests Designed to measure unseen constructs or latent variables Personality Traits Emotional Dynamics Psychological Disorders ocial Interaction Intelligence Occupational abilities and interests Limitations Cultural bias Reliability/Validity

16 Reliability vs validity Reliability Consistency in measurement Does the test accurately measure what its supposed to measure? Validity Truth in measurement Did you measure what you intended to measure?

17 Relevance of testing in PE Corroboration of alleged parental strengths (RCW (3) (a) trength, nature and stability of parent-child relationships Emotional needs and developmental level of the child Corroboration of alleged parental deficits (RCW (3)) Long term emotional impairment Impairment of emotional ties between parent & child Abusive use of conflict by the parent Other factors or conduct adverse to child's best interests

18 Long-term emotional impairment or other adverse factors Mood and anxiety disorders Psychosis Personality

19 Frequently used tests Measures with embedded validity scales MMPI-2 (Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory 2) PAI (Personality Assessment Inventory) MCMI-IV (Millon Clinical Multi-Axial Inventory IV) PI (Parent tress Index 2) Measures without embedded validity scales TAXI-2 (tate Trait Anger Expression Inventory -2) CT-2 (Conflicts Tactics cale 2)

20 MMPI-2 Both MMPI-2 and PAI: individual s phenomenological description of how he/she is experiencing his/her psychopathology Does the test taker endorses items like members of the criterion group? Test taking attitudes: Validity and clinical scales Custody data - Bathurst, Gottfried & Gottfried (1997), Butcher (1997), and Hynman,(2014).

21 PAI Gender and culturally sensitive Validity and clinical scales look at all subscales regardless of elevated parent scale and look at specific items Custody data Hynman (2014)

22 Computer Generated Interpretive Reports Psychologists select scoring and interpretation services (including automated services) on the basis of evidence of the validity of the program and procedures as well as on other appropriate considerations. (APA Ethics Code 9.09(b)) Problems with CGIR Also see Behnke,. (2004)

23 Conclusions Testing can be relevant and have impact on parenting did the evaluator come back to the results or did they simply write up the testing results and never talk about it again? Evaluations/evaluators should employ scientific methodology, show work, make the connections between the data, social science literature and the conclusions.

24 References Association of Family and Conciliation Courts. (2006). Model tandards of Practice for Child Custody Evaluation. Association of Family and Conciliation Courts. (2016). Guidelines for Examining Intimate Partner Violence: A upplement to the AFCC Model tandards of Practice for Child Custody Evaluation. American Psychological Association s (2002) Ethical Principles of Psychologists and Code of Conduct. American Psychological Association. (2010). Guidelines for Child Custody Evaluations in Family Law Proceedings. American Psychologist, 56 (9), American Psychological Association (2013). pecialty Guidelines for Forensic Psychology. American Psychologist, 68(1), 7-19.

25 References Austin, W. G. (2007). Relocation, research, and forensic evaluation: Part I. Effects of residential mobility on children of divorce. Family Court Review, 46(1), ; Austin, W. G. (2008). Relocation, research, and forensic evaluation: Part II. Research in support of the relocation risk assessment model. Family Court Review, 46(2), ; Austin, W. G., & Drozd, L.M. (2012). Intimate Partner violence and Child Custody evaluation, Part I: Theoretical Framework, Forensic Model, and Assessment Issues. Journal of Child Custody, 9: Behnke,. (2004). Test coring and interpretation services. American Psychologist, 35(3). Drozd, L., ansini, M., & Olesen, N (Eds.). (2016). Parenting Plan Evaluations 2 nd Ed. Applied Research for the Family Court. Oxford Press. Kuenle, K. & Drozd., L (2012). Parenting Plan Evaluations Applied Research for the Family Court. Oxford Press.

26 References Bow, J., Gould, J. W, Flens, J.R., & Greenhut, D. (2006). Testing in Child Custody Evaluations election, Usage, and Daubert Admissibility: A urvey of Psychologists. Journal of Forensic Psychology Practice, Vol. 6(2). Flens, J.R. (2005). The Responsible Use of Psychological Testing in Child Custody Evaluations: election of Tests. Journal of Child Custody 2,(1/2,) pp Gould, J. W. (2006). Conducting scientifically crafted child custody evaluations (2nd Ed.). arasota, Florida: Professional Resource Press. Martindale, D. (2008). Confirmatory Bias and Confirmatory Distortion. Journal of Child Custody. 2 (1/2), WAC /RCW ;