California > Local County > Santa Clara > Family Law
Evaluation FM-1074 - California
| Evaluation Form. This is a California form and can be used in Family Law Santa Clara Local County . |
|
||||||
 Get this form for FREE as a print-only pdf |
|||||||
|
SUPERIOR COURT OF CALIFORNIA COUNTY OF SANTA CLARA Family Court Services 170 Park Avenue San José, CA 95113 (408) 534-5760 EVALUATION CASE NAME: EVALUATION DATE: CASE # TIME: (circle) 8:15 AM 8:30 AM * * FCS # 9:00 AM 1:30 PM * * PURPOSE, SCOPE & DISTRIBUTION OF RECOMMENDATIONS: The Court has ordered that an Evaluation be done in your case in order to assist in determining the health, safety, welfare and best interests of children with regard to the custody and visitation issues specified by the Court. This evaluation, which usually requires multiple appointments, will be an examination limited in scope to the disputed custody/visitation issues defined by court order. It will result in a written confidential report along with written recommendation to the Court which, will be sent to the attorneys for the parties, parties representing themselves, and the Court. Any orders resulting from the recommendations will become a part of the court file. If you do not agree with the recommendation, you must object to it as directed at that time to stop it from automatically becoming a court order. If settlement efforts, including meetings with the evaluator and conferences with the judge, do not resolve the matter, you are entitled to a court hearing. TIME REQUIRED: The majority of evaluations average about 10-15 hours of time spread over multiple appointments completed within 60 days of the date of the first evaluation appointment. The evaluator will gather enough information from multiple sources to allow him or her to make a written recommendation regarding those limited issues in dispute. This evaluation time includes information review, as well as file and recommendation preparation. It does not include any follow-up time spent in settlement conferences or testifying, for which there would be additional billing. A small number of cases resolve after one appointment, while a larger number require an amount of evaluation time far beyond the 10 -15 hour average, and some require an extension of the 60 day deadline. PROCEDURES: At the time the evaluation is scheduled, the Court will also schedule a Custody Settlement Conference (CSC) to take place 90 100 days from the initial evaluation appointment. At the initial evaluation appointment, the evaluator may reschedule the CSC date within the same 90 100 day window. Parties will have 15 days from the mailing date of the Evaluation Recommendations to file objections. If objections are filed, parties must meet with the evaluator prior to the CSC. The purpose of this meeting is to discuss Objections, to determine if a settlement can be reached and to explain the rationale for the recommendations. If the evaluator requests and is granted an extension to complete the evaluation, the evaluator must set a new CSC date to occur between 30 and 40 days from the new due date. Evaluations usually include the following action unless the evaluator has justification for not using a specific procedure: Reviews of documents related to the issues in dispute (FCS will only accept documents or materials from parties that have been copied and submitted to the other parties/attorneys), including but not limited to: documents submitted by the parties, FCS and Court files, criminal record checks, Child Protective Services reports, police reports; interviews with the attorney/s; interviews with the parents (separately and/or together - victims of domestic violence are interviewed separately); interviews with any step-parents or primary caretaking individuals; interviews/observations with the children; observations of the children interacting with each of the parties and sometimes other family members. Evaluations may also include drug/alcohol testing or assessment, interviews other witnesses or family members in person or by phone (i.e. teachers, day-care providers, pediatricians, counselors, child protection workers, police officers) and additional data be gathering (i.e. school records or medical reports). Home visits are conducted only as needed by the evaluator because of the time and expense involved. The evaluator may also consult with other Family Court Services personnel other than the mediator, or other experts as necessary. You may request that the evaluation process include certain actions, but it is the evaluator and the Court who must ultimately determine how much and what type of information must be gathered. FM-1074 REV 3/10/09 Non-substantive change 1/1/13 Page 1 of 2 American LegalNet, Inc. www.FormsWorkFlow.com CHILDREN: Children are not to appear for the first appointment unless: The Court has directed they be available for the first appointment or one of the parties resides more than 100 miles from San José or the evaluator directs the parties to bring them. If any of the preceding conditions apply, the children are to be available to FCS within 15 minutes. If they are present at the Court, they need to be under the supervision of a responsible adult other than the party bringing them. INTERPRETERS: Non English-speaking parties must bring a neutral interpreter who is agreed upon by both parties. FCS may have Spanish speaking evaluators available at any given time but cannot guarantee this. PSYCHOLOGICAL TESTING: will only be used as a part of an evaluation when the Court or the evaluator determines that this piece of information is necessary. In such cases, psychological tests can assist the evaluator in understanding a parent's behavior and relationship abilities and the potential for matching the parent's abilities with the particular needs of the children. The results of the psychological testing will be viewed only within the context of the information gathered from clinical interviews and other available information. The parenting skills and abilities of the individual parent/caretaker are the primary concern of the evaluator. When the Court orders psychological testing, this service is provided by a psychologist outside of Family Court Services and the parties are responsible for payment for the testing as ordered by the Court. CONFIDENTIALITY LIMITATIONS: Information disclosed to Family Court Services during the scope of any form of child custody/visitation investigation is not confidential from the Court. This information may be disclosed in reports or testimony made to the Court. Family Court Services may not release information about the case to any other individual except as authorized by the Court or by law such as: Mandatory re
|
|||||||
