JUDICIAL CASE-MANAGEMENT AND THE CUSTODY AND ACCESS ASSESSMENT - MELDING THE APPROACHES

Background: The presence of the Unified Family Court, with procedures emphasizing judicial case management and settlement in custody dispute s, provided an opportunity to combine these practices with those of a university hospital-based family court clinic experienced in the provi sion of custody assessments. Specifically, a process integrating the c linical custody assessment with the work of counsel and court procedur es was developed. This format, incorporating the preparation of a clin ical settlement conference brief was then evaluated with emphasis on t ime management outcome in relation to settlement or trial, and the eff ect of clinical assessment at critical points in the combined endeavou r.Method: Seventy-two judicial referrals conducted using this format w ere reviewed. To assess efficiency we determined time intervals to var ious points in the process and compared them to previous local practic e. Settlement rates, recorded incrementally to mark each component's c ontribution, were compared with rates noted in the literature. Assessm ent functions were identified according to the point of resolution of the dispute and in a manner to facilitate comparison with previously p ublished work. Results: The format resulted in 50% of cases settling w ithout trial in under 5 months, a minimum settlement rate of 50% and c onfirmed the ability of clinical assessment to contribute flexibly to dispute resolution in several conciliation venues and at trial. Conclu sions: Combining legal and mental health efforts can result in more ef ficient use of resources and a substantial diversion of cases from con tinuing litigation. While altering the process of clinical assessments enhances such findings, further work is required to assure appropriat e selection criteria for various intervention formats.