Making the case for videoconferencing and remote child custody evaluations (RCCEs): The empirical, ethical, and evidentiary arguments for accepting new technology.

Abstract

[Correction Notice: An Erratum for this article was reported online in Psychology, Public Policy, and Law on Dec 3 2020 (see record 2020-93289-001). In the article “Making the Case for Videoconferencing and Remote Child Custody Evaluations (RCCES): The Empirical, Ethical, and Evidentiary Arguments for Accepting New Technology” by Milfred D. Dale and Desiree Smith, (Psychology, Public Policy, and Law. Advance online publication. August 24, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1037/law0000280), in the first paragraph of “VC Use in Forensic Interviews of Children Regarding Possible Child Abuse,” the authors realized after publication that a staged event was incorrectly cited as a field study. All versions of this article have been corrected.] The COVID-19 pandemic and its requirements for social distancing and limited, if any, in-person contact have forced the child custody community to consider remote child custody evaluations (RCCEs) conducted through videoconferencing. CCEs are perhaps the most complex of all forensic evaluations, requiring complex, multifaceted assessments of multiple parties and their relationships in order to address the best interests of the child. Attempting these evaluations via videoconferencing should be done carefully and only after consideration of numerous factors, including whether this alternative can be safely and reliably accomplished. This article outlines the conceptual approach used by the child custody community for determining the foci of the evaluation, tailoring data collection via multiple methodologies, and analyzing the data. The article reviews the empirical literature demonstrating that professional relationships and various clinical and forensic processes have reliably and successfully used videoconferencing with adults, children, and different clinical and forensic populations. The article also outlines how evaluators conducting RCCEs must comply with the ethical demands of their discipline or profession, as well as ethical demands unique to remote service delivery. Finally, the article addresses how evaluators can prepare for challenges to their work that are based upon the standards for admissibility of expert witness testimony. The limitations of videoconferencing, including limitations specific to the demands of RCCEs, are also reviewed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved)