Maternal and joint custody

The present study examined differences between 40 couples who agreed to traditional mother custody and 12 couples who agreed to joint custody as the postdivorce arrangement for their children. Data were collected by interview and questionnaire within six months of the filing of the divorce petition. Differences emerged in the social context of the decision process, the criteria used, and the application of criteria to parents' particular circumstances. The findings are then organized into a framework that suggests a model for the process by which parents make their decision about custody.     

Relinquishing custody as a requisite for receiving services for children with serious emotional disorders

A review of the literature was conducted to assess the extent and nature of the practice of requiring parents to transfer custody in order to receive public funding for intensive services needed by their child/adolescent who had a serious emotional disorder. The review focused on the legal and policy basis of this practice as well as its social and psychological impact on child and family. We conclude that the practice of transfer of custody as a requirement for receiving financial aid occurs in a majority of states, though the actual extent of this practice is not known. The major factor influencing the use of transfer of custody appears to be the absence of an appropriate and adequate system of services for children and adolescents with serious emotional disorders. We recommend that the practice of requiring custody transfer for the sole purpose of receiving services be abolished and offer several suggestions for improving acess to services.Preparation of this article was supported in part by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) under contract no. 89MF761903. The authors are grateful to John Burke and Kelly Kelleher of the Division of Biometry and Applied Sciences, NIMH for their assistance on this project. Laurie Flynn, Executive Director for the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill, was very helpful during the informative stage of the project. Barbara Friesen, Director of the Research and Training Center at Portland State University, gave us useful guidance throughout the project. We thank Stephen Hill, Consultant to the National Governors' Association, for his help. We are grateful to Amy Hewitt and Carol Ishler for their assistance in preparing this report. We also would like to acknowledge several individuals who assisted us with research reported in this article. We are grateful to Governor Richard F. Celeste of Ohio for his letter of support for the state survey of custody transfer practices. We appreciate the efforts on behalf of this survey by staff from the State of Ohio, particularly Jean Ellen Stevens, Administrative Assistant to the Director of the Department of Mental Health. Margraret McNally assisted in the compilation of data for both surveys.     

Global custody of endowment funds

This article explores the law relating to the global custodianship of funds, notably as managed for endowed charities such as universities and independent schools. Is global custody based on the legal concept of bailment or of trusts? Just how secure are the legal underpinnings of this financial mechanism? The conclusions are that the legal foundations to the concepts of custodianship, and especially on a global level with the appointment of sub-custodians, is surprisingly uncertain and confused in English Law, providing rather less reassurance to charity trustees concerning the security of the financial assets for which they are accountable than they might reasonably have expected.     

Joint custody: a comprehensive review

This article presents a comprehensive overview of joint custody. The history and legislative implications are discussed, as are pertinent issues relative to the reported advantages and disadvantages of joint custody. Finally, the role of the mental health professional in assisting with counseling divorced families either before, during, or after a custody decision is discussed.     

Models and methods of cost-effective child custody evaluation

Child custody evaluations (CCEs) are often seen as a necessity by the legal system when caregivers cannot find a resolution to their child custody disputes. In many instances, these evaluations are quite costly for the litigants and cost can act as a barrier to equal access to justice. Affluent families are better able to access private evaluators while families with lesser means may encounter delays in receiving services or be unable to afford an evaluation at all. This can, in turn, prolong resolution of league disputes, increasing the emotional toll on families, and hamper courts in making decisions in the best interests of the children involved. This article examines models of providing CCEs outside of an isolated individual provider private practice format. It examines the benefits and considerations for lower-cost evaluations, while discussing how to maintain high quality services that adequately assess family systems. Broader issues that impact the courts and overall access to justice through offering cost effective evaluations are also discussed.     

Relitigation after contested custody and visitation evaluations

Relitigation of custody, visitation, and child support during a two-year period was used as a measure of postdivorce adjustment. A sample of highly adversarial families (n = 58) referred for a court-ordered psychiatric evaluation as part of a contested divorce custody or visitation action was compared to control samples of mother custody (n = 43), father custody (n = 30), and joint custody (n = 54) families in which custody was not contested. Nineteen percent of adversarial families evaluated predivorce relitigated custody, a significantly higher rate than control families. Mother custody cases had a higher rate of relitigation over child support than did father or joint custody arrangements. Joint custody controls had approximately the same rate of relitigation of custody as did father custody and mother custody controls. A sample of families referred for evaluation of a postdivorce custody or visitation dispute (n = 46) had a higher rate of relitigation of problems regarding visitation than did a control sample of postdivorce families (n = 36). Possible explanations for these findings are discussed.     

Death in custody: a historical analysis

This research delineates the historical evolution of death in custody. A retrospective, exploratory analysis of 145,425 cases from Maryland's Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, occurring from 1939 to 2004, was conducted. Two hundred and two custodial deaths were identified and subsequently examined relative to time, agency, decedent characteristics, and cause and manner of death. Results indicate that there have been substantive changes in custodial deaths over time. Cardiovascular disease was the most frequent cause of death from the 1930s to the 1970s, except for the 1940s, when syphilis and tuberculosis took precedence. Asphyxia, the predominant cause of death in the 1980s, reflected an increase in suicidal hangings. Emerging in the 1980s, drug intoxication deaths were prevalent in the 1990s and 2000s. Sudden unexplained deaths involving violent behavior, the use of multiple restraints, and drug intoxication were not identified until the 1980s, coinciding with periods of increased cocaine abuse nationally.     

Police custody: deaths and medical attention

Information was obtained from all the county constabularies regarding deaths and medical attention given to those in police custody. It was presumed that this information covered all deaths in custody in Denmark during the period 1981 through 1985. There is no apparent increase in the absolute number of deaths during detention during the period 1969 through 1985. The number of deaths occurring in custody in relation to the annual number of persons incarcerated has fallen during the period 1955 through 1985. Simultaneously, a marked rise has occurred in the number of persons held in police custody. During the period 1981 through 1985, 7.9 persons were incarcerated per 1000 population per year. One homicide and nineteen other deaths occurred. The most frequent cause of death was asphyxiation as a result of aspiration of gastric contents during alcohol intoxication, drug poisoning, and intracranial hemorrhage. A physician had been consulted but had not diagnosed the seriousness of the condition in 42% of the deaths. All the deceased were men, and all suffered from the effects of social, psychiatric, and physical diseases. The lethality evaluated from hospitalized clients with the same type of life-threatening conditions was found to be 25%. A discussion is presented of the costs which will be incurred if a large group of those kept in police custody were admitted to hospital. Similarly, changes in the present arrangements are suggested that could ensure a greater certainty of avoiding deaths in detention.     

Assessing allegations of domestic violence in child custody evaluations

There has been an increased focus on child custody evaluations involving domestic violence allegations with much criticism of evaluators' training, practices, and procedures. A national survey of 115 child custody evaluators (doctoral and master's level) was conducted to explore these criticisms. Findings revealed adequate training, multiple sources of data collection, and practices/procedures that closely adhere to child custody guidelines. However, robust, specialized domestic violence instruments, tests, and questionnaires were underutilized. Respondents indicated that findings supporting domestic violence allegations had a substantial impact on their subsequent recommendations. Results are discussed in terms of the importance of assessing domestic violence when conducting custody evaluations and the need for developing practice standards in this domain. Generally, results did not support common criticisms of custody evaluation practice.     

Deaths in police custody in England and Wales

Worldwide deaths in police custody are causing public disquiet. An account is given of all the deaths occurring in police custody in England and Wales over a ten-year period from 1970 – 1979 with details of the causes of death and inquest verdicts.     

Fathers and sons: some effects of prolonged custody litigation

In all jurisdictions, for a variety of reasons, child custody and visitation issues may be reopened at any time. The children at issue, already likely to have been traumatized by problems in the parental marriage and subsequent separation and divorce, are affected further by still more litigation. The cases of three preadolescent boys who are the subjects of such prolonged litigation are presented. In each, the boys resided with their mothers as the primary custodial parents, the fathers having generally liberal rights of visitation. Regardless of which parent raised further court-related issues after the original agreements, the father-son relationship was most severely affected by continuing legal actions and related parental actions. Each child became increasingly fearful of the next anticipated visit by the father, who was cast into the role of villain by the child. Efforts to improve these damaged relationships through joint parent-child therapeutic attempts were largely of little avail. In spite of what may have been good experience with the person of the judge who dealt with earlier litigation, the children became fearful of what the next might be like or might do, viewing the judge as the person in power to whom parents and attorneys alike deferred. It is suggested that, wherever possible, prolonged litigation be avoided in the best interests of the child and of preserving necessary child-parent relationships.     

The custody orientation of correctional officers: An international comparison

Correctional officers are the most numerous of staff in correctional institutions, and thus an important component in the functioning of the prison. Previous research has identified a subgroup of correctional officers who have been termed “custody oriented.” These officers value the security and supervison aspect of corrections work, and many times hold negative attitudes towards inmates. In order to ascertain the variables that may give rise to a custody orientation and to determine if these variables operate cross‐culturally, the attitudes of American (n = 229) and Canadian (n = 339) correctional officers were examined. The custody orientation of both groups was virtually identical, but the determinants of this custody orientation were quite different for the two groups of officers.     

Disputed child custody: strategies and issues in mediation

Disputed child custody is a significant life stressor for both adults and children. Recent efforts have been made to develop a model for family mediation and subsequent clinical strategies that can attempt to address the stressors involved in divorce and perhaps resolve, through mediation, the posttrauma stress experienced by both spouses and children. Reviewed is the literature on the impact of separation and divorce on families and the use of family mediation to resolve disputes. It further addresses psychologic factors involved in the mediation process and the possible effects of mediation on divorce. An established family mediation model for treatment is presented in detail, as are clinical issues often addressed in the family mediation process. Issues and import for clinical application and research are offered.     

Health characteristics of older police custody detainees in London,UK

The number of older adults involved in the criminal justice system is rising. Little is known about the state of health in older people who are arrested. This study compared characteristics and health care needs of older police custody detainees with their younger counterparts. The health characteristics of 57 police detainees aged over 50 were compared with 543 younger detainees. Older detainees had significantly higher rates of physical illness and risk of alcohol withdrawal. Although there were equivalent rates of mental disorder and drug taking compared with younger detainees, a higher proportion had presentations consistent with cognitive impairment due to possible dementing processes. Over 80% of older detainees were recommended to have a health assessment in police stations based on their presentation. Police detainees over 50 should be considered to have a health assessment as routine procedure. Further investigation should also be conducted into cognitive impairment in this group.