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Brief-Focused Assessment

In Family Courts, a brief focused assessment (BFA) is typically ordered to provide a quick, targeted evaluation on a specific issue affecting a family law case, particularly when a full custody evaluation is unnecessary or too time-consuming. These assessments aim to support judicial decision-making in a timely manner.

Common BFA topics:

Parenting Capacity

  • Assessment of each parent’s ability to meet the child’s physical, emotional, and developmental needs.

  • Concerns about mental health, substance use, or cognitive limitations affecting parenting.

Parent-Child Contact Problems​

  • Whether a child is alienated from or resistant to contact with one parent, and possible causes.

Child's Wishes

  • Evaluating the child’s preferences about custody or visitation, with consideration for age and legal guidelines

Specific Allegations

  • Investigation of domestic violence or child abuse/neglect and the impact on a child's functioning.

  • Impact of alleged behaviors on the child's well-being, safety, and mental health.

Co-Parenting Dynamics

  • The ability of parents to communicate and cooperate regarding the child.

  • Whether one parent is interfering with the other's parenting time or decisions.​

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Temporary Contact Recommendations

  • Suitability of Supervised vs. unsupervised contact.

  • Appropriateness of reintroducing a parent into a child' life after an absence or separation.

Why these are helpful.

In family law cases, the Court is often presented with conflicting accounts from each party—what's sometimes described as "he said/she said." This can make it challenging for the Court to determine what is truly in the best interests of the child. In other situations, the Court may recognize that it lacks sufficient insight into the family dynamics or the emotional and psychological impact those dynamics may have on the child. A Brief Focused Assessment helps bridge this gap by providing a neutral, professional evaluation of specific concerns. These assessments offer the Court timely, issue-specific information—such as parenting capacity, communication patterns, or the effects of ongoing conflict—allowing for more informed and child-centered decisions.

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