Family Court Focus Groups: Exploring the Need for Trauma-Focused Child Maltreatment Risk Assessment Tools

The study objective was to explore trauma-informed, transdisciplinary opinions on judicial decision-making and the utility of an evidence-based child abuse and neglect (CAN) risk assessment tool in family court settings. Through focus groups, we explored barriers and facilitators to judicial decision-making in family court CAN-related cases and if deploying such an assessment would be useful as compared to current decision-making processes in family court in child custody and visitation in CAN cases. We conducted six focus groups (N = 27) from May 2024 – October 2024 with key family court stakeholders: judges, attorneys who represent survivors and perpetrators, court staff, survivors of domestic violence and advocates. We analyzed the qualitative data utilizing framework analysis. All participants concurred that we need a different approach to determining custody decisions with CAN allegations and system-level changes to address highly fraught and trauma-filled cases. Participants voiced discordant opinions when discussing the “who” and “when” for the administration of an evidence-based assessment. Results highlight the opportunity to provide education on child maltreatment, domestic violence, and the use of evidence-based tools, such as the FAIR system, for court personnel and other professionals assisting families in the family court setting.