Series Overview

Allegations of child sexual abuse (CSA) raise complex, high-stakes issues in child custody evaluations with significant implications for child safety, parenting arrangements, and family functioning. When CSA concerns are present, evaluators must exercise careful role definition, maintain appropriate boundaries between forensic and custody-related questions, and integrate information generated across multiple systems with rigor, restraint, and a consistent focus on child safety and judicial usefulness.

This four-part training series is intended for mental health professionals who conduct, or are preparing to conduct, child custody evaluations in matters involving allegations of CSA. It is designed to support evaluators in developing a disciplined framework for defining their role, interpreting forensic information, analyzing non-forensic family data, and translating complex findings into balanced, safety-focused parenting-plan recommendations.

The series begins with the legal and conceptual foundations of CSA-informed custody evaluations, then turns to the interpretation of forensic information, the analysis of non-forensic family and collateral data, and finally the development of risk-informed parenting-plan recommendations. Together, these courses are intended to meet the education and training topics described in California Rule of Court 5.225(d)(4) and others, including child disclosure processes, prevalence in the general population and family law context, traumagenic dynamics of abuse, issues specific to intrafamilial CSA, and approaches to assessing parental protection, boundaries, and caregiving practices.

Go to the IPV/DV Course Hub to view the full 4-course series and see bundle options.

*Each part in this series can be taken as a solo course or as a part of this series.

Course Overview

This course focuses on the interpretation and synthesis of forensic information in custody matters involving child sexual abuse (CSA) allegations. Because many CSA investigations depend heavily on a child’s statements, custody evaluators and related professionals need a strong working understanding of child disclosure research and accepted forensic interviewing standards, even when they are not conducting the interviews themselves. Designed for custody evaluators, forensic mental health professionals, attorneys, and other practitioners involved in family law and child welfare matters, the course examines how children disclose abuse over time and how developmental factors shape the meaning of those disclosures.

Participants will explore patterns such as delayed disclosure, partial disclosure, inconsistency, and recantation, and will learn how to evaluate these features without relying on simplistic assumptions. The course also reviews indicators of stronger and weaker forensic interviewing practice so that participants can more critically assess the evidentiary value of interview material presented in custody cases. In addition, participants will be introduced to research-informed best-practice standards, including the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) approach to high-quality child forensic interviewing.

To support practical application, the course includes review of a recorded forensic interview, allowing participants to apply key concepts to an authentic case example and strengthen their ability to identify interviewing strengths, limitations, and implications for custody analysis. By the end of the course, participants will be better prepared to interpret forensic interview evidence thoughtfully, cautiously, and in a manner that is relevant to custody decision-making.

Applicable California Rules of court (Education and training requirements) rule 5.225(d)( 7, 9, 17, 20, 21)

**Trigger Warning: This course discusses heavy topics around child sexual abuse. It includes clips of a real-life interview with a child. Please watch at your own pace and discretion, taking care of your mental health while doing so.**