What Should Forensic Professionals Know About the Evolution of "Child Custody" Evaluation to "Parenting Plan" Evaluation?

The field of forensic psychology is evolving. Many professionals are now replacing the term “child custody evaluation” with “parenting plan evaluation.”

Why? Because ‘custody’ implies control or ownership, while ‘parenting plan’ emphasizes collaboration, responsibility, and child-centered decision-making. This shift signals a cultural and ethical move toward language that empowers families and focuses on children’s developmental needs.

This change in terminology reflects the overall broadening of family law terminology, with ‘decision making’ replacing ‘legal custody’ and ‘parenting time’ replacing ‘physical custody’ (DiFonzo, 2014).  

Leading professional organizations—such as the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts (AFCC) and the American Psychological Association (APA)—have formally recognized this change.

• The AFCC’s 2022 Guidelines for Parenting Plan Evaluations in Family Law Cases reframe these assessments as processes that support shared parenting, co-parenting capacity, and the child’s best interests (AFCC, 2022).
• The APA’s Guidelines for Child Custody Evaluations (2009) anticipated this shift by emphasizing developmental, relational, and ethical competence in evaluations (APA, 2009).

Because language drives ethics and perception. Referring to these cases as parenting plan evaluations communicates:

• Respect for the child as a developing individual—not a possession.
• Respect for parents as adults with shared obligations, not opposing claimants.
• Alignment with developmental science, emphasizing stability, attachment, and continuity.
• Reduced adversarial framing, which helps lower conflict intensity in high-stakes cases.

Evaluators conducting parenting plan assessments should be trained in:

• Evidence-Based Assessment (EBA) – Forming hypotheses and testing them against multiple data sources, rather than collecting data indiscriminately.
• Child Development – Understanding age-appropriate transitions, attachment needs, and sibling dynamics.
• Co-Parenting Dynamics – Assessing cooperation, gatekeeping, and alliance patterns.
• Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) and Trauma – Recognizing safety issues, differential disclosure, and risk factors.
• Cultural Competence – Integrating culture, community, and structural context into recommendations.
• Feedback and Transparency – Conducting feedback meetings and explaining findings in plain language.

As Martindale & Shear (2023) noted in the Journal of Child Custody, effective evaluators under the AFCC 2022 framework act as “structured, transparent, and integrative professionals balancing science and ethics.”

Palo Alto University’s CONCEPT Continuing and Professional Studies teaches these skills and provides certifications and CEs in our Child Custody (Parenting Plan) Evaluation Certificate program, and will be updating materials to reflect this change in the coming months. 

Under the AFCC’s 2022 Parenting Plan Guidelines, reports should:

• Use neutral, developmentally sensitive language.
• Focus on recommendations rather than judgments.
• Include contextual information (work schedules, geography, community supports).
• Be transparent about data sources and limitations.
• Promote understanding, not polarization, among family members and the court.

In short, the evaluator’s voice should model respect, clarity, and fairness.

Use “parenting plan evaluation” when:

• Your assessment is child-centered and co-parenting-focused.
• The jurisdiction recognizes or encourages shared parenting frameworks.
• The court order or retainer specifies evaluation of decision-making and time-sharing rather than legal custody.
  

Professionals can stay aligned with best practices through continuing education, like that provided by Palo Alto University’s CONCEPT Continuing and Professional Studies trainings.

Educational programs that cover both paradigms—custody and parenting plan—prepare evaluators for practice in varied legal environments while leading the field toward a more humane and developmentally sound model.

While the terminology shift represents progress, challenges remain:

• Many legal systems still default to adversarial framing.
• Time and resource constraints limit evaluators’ ability to conduct comprehensive relational assessments.
• Cultural biases and socioeconomic disparities can still influence outcomes.

Nevertheless, as evaluators adopt child-centered frameworks, the field’s credibility and societal trust will continue to strengthen.

1. Adopt the language. Use parenting plan evaluation when describing your work.
2. Educate others. Explain the rationale to attorneys, judges, and clients.
3. Model transparency and fairness. Demonstrate neutrality and respect in your written and verbal communication.
4. Engage in continuing education. Stay updated with AFCC, APA, and state board guidelines.
5. Support systemic change. Encourage your jurisdiction or practice community to adopt language that reflects shared responsibility and the child’s best interests.
   

• Association of Family and Conciliation Courts. (2022). Guidelines for Parenting Plan Evaluations in Family Law Cases. AFCC PDF
• American Psychological Association. (2009). Guidelines for Child Custody Evaluations in Family Law Proceedings. APA Guidelines
• Martindale, D. A., & Shear, L. E. (2023). Best Practices for Structuring a Family Court Parenting Plan Evaluation under the 2022 AFCC Guidelines. Journal of Child Custody
• AFCC. (2023). Parenting Plan Evaluations: Guidelines and Best Practices with an Emphasis on Cases Involving Intimate Partner Violence (IPV). LearnUpon Course