This 2025 annual update for the Child Custody Evaluators (CCE), as specified by California Rules of Court, rule 5.225(i), is hosted by Lori Love, PhD. Presenters are the Honorable Judge Margo Hoy (ret), Sandra Mayberry, Esq, CFLS, Christy Bradshaw Schmidt, LPC, Leslie Drozd, Ph.D., and Sally Lynch, MA, LMFT.

Overview:

This training provides timely updates on key judicial decisions and legal trends from the past year relevant to Child Custody Evaluators (CCEs). It explores systemic resist/refuse dynamics, including the critical question of “when to let go,” and offers guidance on how evaluations can support the effectiveness of conjoint family therapy. Presenters will address what therapists need from CCEs in resist/refuse cases and how to respond when therapy is no longer viable.

Additional topics include brief focused evaluations, developing and testing alternative hypotheses, and current best practices. The training emphasizes legal defensibility in Parenting Plan Evaluations (PPEs), identifying common pitfalls and emerging PPE challenges. Attendees will learn strategies to reduce bias, improve judgment, and enhance transparency, along with techniques for integrating findings into reports that meet ethical and legal standards and reflect a deliberate approach to hypothesis development and testing.

Presentations:

Judicial Updates 2025
Legal Updates 2025
Should I Persist when my Child Resists?
Conducting Custody Evaluations with Integrity: A Best Practice Booster
Recommendations in Evaluations that Benefit the Utility of Conjoint Family Therapy

Applicable California Rules of Court, rules 5.225 and 5.230, et. seq.