Training judges on allegations of child sexual abuse

New Training Curriculum for Judges
on Adjudicating Allegations of Child Sexual Abuse
When Custody is in Dispute

Source: ABA on Child Law
For the past several years, the National Judicial Education Program to Promote Equality for Women and Men in the Courts (a project of the NOW Legal Defense and Education Fund in cooperation with the National Association of Women Judges) has been teamed with the American Bar Association’s ABA Center on Children and the Law to produce a curriculum for judges in dealing with one of the most difficult types of cases related to children and families. That two-volume curriculum, entitled Adjudicating Allegations of Child Sexual Abuse When Custody is in Dispute, has just been published.

There is no more vexing question for judges today than how to evaluate allegations of child sexual abuse in custody and visitation disputes. This curriculum provides judges with a resource to help them handle these cases in an informed and fair manner. The curriculum was developed by leading experts in law and social science through a grant from the State Justice Institute. Its purpose is:

To promote the fair administration of justice by improving the courts’ ability to assess child sexual abuse allegations in the context of custody and visitation disputes; and To help judges make custody and visitation decisions that reflect the best interests of the child.

The most current information about child sexual abuse allegations in the custody/visitation context is included in four substantive units:

Unit I: A Context for Understanding Child Sexual Abuse Allegations When Custody is in Dispute — analyzes studies on the incidence, prevalence and validity of child sexual abuse allegations in custody/visitation cases; explains the importance of using accurate terminology to distinguish fabricated allegations from those that are made in good faith or are unfounded for lack of determinative evidence; and, explains why child sexual abuse may begin or first be disclosed at divorce, why adults and children may fabricate, and circumstances that give rise to good faith but mistaken allegations.

Unit II: Evaluating the Evaluators: Assessing Experts’ Qualifications and Evaluations of Child Sexual Abuse: Psychological and Medical Criteria — explores what the mental health and medical communities consider “best practice” in evaluating child sexual abuse allegations.

Unit III: Children’s Statements and Testimony: Obtaining Information from the Child, Assessing Statements and Reducing Trauma — explains research on children‘s memories and suggestibility, appropriate interviewing techniques, and techniques to help children provide accurate, reliable testimony.

Unit IV: Custody and Visitation Decisions in the Best Interests of the Child — emphasizes custody and visitation decision making that is in the best interests of the child. This exploration includes: child development issues; ensuring supervised visitation that protects children from psychological and physical harm; how to reestablish the relationship between the accused parent and child when an allegation unfounded; and what to do when an allegation is fabricated.

In addition to these four units, the curriculum includes a Primer providing a short comprehensive overview of current knowledge of child sexual abuse in all contexts; a Facilitator’s Manual explaining in detail how to present the curriculum; and Readings covering subjects in the curriculum in greater depth.

The curriculum has received positive feedback from two pilot test states where it was the basis for a training program. One Alabama judge stated that Adjudicating Allegations of Child Sexual Abuse When Custody is in Dispute was a “[r]eally good program – one of the strongest I’ve been to.” Another stated he was copying the resource materials for the judges in his area. A third judge stated the program had already impacted his handling of a case in that he resisted an inclination to be punitive toward the parent making the allegation. A Colorado judge wrote, “It is my belief that the seminar was a success and that when offered to other judges that it will cause them to approach the issue in a deliberative and reasoned manner. I can assure you that my thought process has changed as a result of being involved with the faculty.”

The information in this curriculum may easily be adapted to meet the needs of professionals other than judges who are involved in these difficult cases.

The two-volume curriculum may be purchased for $60, which includes postage within the United States. If you are outside the United States, postage will depend on your location and postal preference (i.e., surface or air). To order, contact the National Judicial Education Program, 99 Hudson Street, Suite 1201, New York, NY 10013 or call 212/925-6635, or link to the ABA Center on Children and the Law.