The goals of the conciliation/evaluation procedure are to resolve the custody dispute, to provide the court with meaningful information and recommendations for resolving the dispute, and to curb existing tensions between the parents. Both parents (or guardians), all children, and collaterals (grandparents, step-parents, etc.) are expected to participate at the discretion of the evaluator. The process is usually completed within six-eight weeks of the initial session. The process requires that the litigating parties meet jointly
with the evaluator on three (3) occasions.
The CCES evaluation will focus on the following: a) a history of the present custody arrangement; b) the concerns of both parties about the present and future custody arrangement; c) a brief history of the relationship of the parties; d) a social history for each party and the child(ren); e) the findings regarding the parties' fitness to parent [mental health and addiction issues]; f) the parties' personality strengths and weaknesses; g) the parties' co-parenting strengths and weaknesses; h) a Recommended or Agreed-Upon Parenting Plan; i) a rationale for the Plan; j) any other findings that the evaluator considers germane to the court's determination of what is in the child(ren)'s best interests. Psychological testing is not a necessary part of the conciliation/evaluation effort, but it may be employed at the discretion of the evaluator and/or the Director in certain limited circumstances. A Home Study may be employed at the direction of the evaluator's and/or the Director's discretion.
The procedure is as follows:
First, each parent meets individually with the evaluator to discuss their concerns and to provide extensive background information. Then a joint meeting is held with both parents to review and evaluate the disputed issues and to discuss the development of co-parenting skills and the impact of co-parenting on the post-separation or post-divorce adjustment of the children. Next, the child (or children) meets with the evaluator individually and/or with siblings and/or with the parents. Each child of appropriate age will have individual interview time with the evaluator. Then, the parents have a second joint meeting to review the evaluator's findings regarding the children and perhaps help the evaluator better understand the clinical material that has unfolded. The next meeting is reserved for collateral parties if it is deemed that their participation is necessary. At the last joint meeting between the parents, the evaluator summarizes his/her findings to date and a Parenting Plan is developed. If there is no agreement on a Parenting Plan at this last meeting, after the evaluator has had the opportunity to review all of the data, his/her final recommendations for resolving the dispute become part of the report to the court.
Starting the process:
The parties are referred to CCES following a meeting with the Custody Master or directly from the bench. In either case, the parties must first fill out the Referral Form and the Consent and Waiver Form. These forms are available only at the Custody Masters' office located at the Bucks County Justice Center [100 North Main Street, Doylestown, PA] and must be filed with that office.
The Custody Master sends the completed forms to CCES. The CCES office will mail each litigant a notice that the Application Fee is due from both parties in order to initiate the evaluation process. The application Fee is an administrative fee applied to the cost of operating the CCES program and is non-refundable. The Application Fee is mailed to the CCES office; the forms are sent to and/or remain with the custody master.
The Application Fee is due within fourteen (14) days of the date that appears on the reminder letter. If either one or both of the parties fails to forward the Application Fee in a timely manner, the case remains Unopened and the court, both attorneys, and both parties are notified. Thereafter, if both Application Fees have been remitted within six (6) months of the closing date, the case is Re-opened automatically. After six months, the parties must fill out a new Referral Form, sign a new Consent & Waiver Form, and remit a new Application Fee, whether or not they paid it the first time.
If the case has been assigned to an evaluator and is closed before there is sufficient information to generate a report, the file is designated as Incomplete.The parties then have three (3) months to resume. Both parties must notify the evaluator in writing of their intent to resume. The parties must pay the remaining fee in full plus a fee for any additional hours needed to update the information already collected. However, once three months have elapsed, the parties must start over with a Custody Master and new Application Fees sent to CCES. A different evaluator may be assigned.
When the forms and application fees are received, the Director of CCES assigns the case to an evaluator. Assignment is based on one or more of the following factors: 1) no conflict of interest exists [see Policies]; 2) each evaluator's caseload; 3) the mutual preference of the parties; 4) the parties geographical area in the county. An attempt is made to assign an evaluator whose office is closest to the identified residences of the parties. The parties may not select an evaluator by name, but they can indicate a mutual preference by selecting two or three acceptable evaluator names from the evaluator list. The Director will then select the evaluator from that list.
The assigned evaluator will contact the parties directly to set up their initial individual appointments. CCES makes every attempt to process and complete cases as quickly as possible. The Referral Form and the Consent Form are retrieved from the Custody Master once per week. Each case is assigned as soon as an evaluator is available after both application fees have been received. The evaluator has 72 hours (barring exceptional circumstances, e.g. vacations, etc.) to contact both parties in writing or by telephone/email to arrange for the first appointment. Usually, the Petitioner in the matter is seen first and the Respondent second, but scheduling difficulties may require a different order. Once they receive notification, the parties must confirm their availability within seventy-two (72) hours. An unconfirmed appointment will not be held open.
The evaluation should proceed at the rate of one or two appointments per week barring scheduling difficulties or unforeseen circumstances. The evaluation should be completed within 6-8 weeks of onset with a report to the court 45 days after the last session with the following exceptions:
- A "compacted evaluation" is conducted when weekly sessions are impractical because one or both parties live in another jurisdiction. A compacted evaluation will not be employed for any other reason. In a compacted evaluation, the entire evaluation process is completed within 3-4 working days or less.
- A" compacted/expedited evalution" takes place only when the the court has set a hearing date and has requested that the report be submitted before that date. A compacted/expedited evaluation will not be employed for any other reason.
Obtaining and reviewing documents:
The parties should bring to their first meeting, or otherwise forward to the evaluator in advance of the first meeting, copies of any documents that they wish the evaluator to review. The evaluator will keep these documents as part of the clinical file. They will not be returned. In accordance with the ex parte
restrictions listed [see Policies], the parties must make available copies of these documents to both attorneys (or directly to a pro se
litigant). Important records include the children's school reports for the last three years, school evaluations, and previous psychological/psychiatric evaluations of children, parents, guardians, etc. Less helpful are personal diaries, email correspondence, and police reports. Audio tapes and videotapes generally shall not be reviewed.
The parties will be asked to sign release forms for any records that the evaluator deems necessary to complete the evaluation. Failure to provide these releases/records may make it impossible to complete the evaluation or may delay the filing of a report. The parties are asked to consult their attorneys before refusing to sign a release form. The attorney should state in writing to CCES the reasons for the client's refusal.