Child Custody Assessment
Child custody refers to maternal and paternal rights and duties relating to the care of a child, where the individual in control of the child must defend the child’s interests and well-being. Best interest is an opinion of children’s rights resulting from the UN convention on children’s rights. The best interest rule outlines that all the decisions made regarding the child’s custody are guided by the main goal of enhancing the child’s happiness, security, and welfare. The top interest rule’s key considerations are the health of the child, social interests, and the condition of the environment in which they are living. Further, the relationship of the child with each of the parents has assessed as well as the parent’s ability to cater to the needs of the child. Additionally, circumstances of the vulnerability of the child, their skills and capabilities, and the overall development are aspects that are relevant to the rule of best interest. Best interests of a child change with time owing to the child’s growth and development. The primary objective of the best interest rule is to achieve a legal decision that defends the rights of the child and enhances welfare, development, and safety (Heidbrink, 2017).
While determining the children’s best interest, emphasis, and weight are put on what serves the child best, and the probability of harm offsets other factors. The factors that are outweighed include; the right of being brought up by the parents, the notion that the interests of the children can be met best by the parents; development is tied to the presence of parents, and the stability of the situation at hand. A comprehensive assessment of the custody should address; the establishment of the identity of the children and the parents and the relationship they portray, develop a long-lasting project, impact assessment of the child, plan for the follow-up assessment, monitoring, and the possible future adjustments to the solution arrived to. The case at hand involves three children, two boys and a girl whose parents have filed a divorce case, and each
Parent ifs were fighting for the custody of the children. There is a foster family that is willing to take in the children. Following the assessment tools for child custody cases and the best of interest rule, each parent and adoptive parents will be assessed to determine their fitness in being regarded as the primary caregivers of the children (Heidbrink, 2017).
Assessment Tools
Courts use different tools in child custody evaluations to arrive at the court ruling that is in line with the best interests of the children. One of these assessment tools is the personality assessment inventory. Each parent tries to paint a good image for themselves and make the other party look bad. This assessment tool evaluates the parents’ stability and their behaviour towards the children. This tool is widely used and yields good results. This method assesses clinical variables and personal attributes of the concerned parties. Another assessment tool is the use of psychological testing. The psychologists carrying out the testing should be guided by the ethical principles of psychology and their code of conduct. Further, the parents’ perception of the children profiles is another tool used in assessing custody cases. The parents should have a clear understanding of the development and needs of the children. For this case, both parents and as well as the foster parents will be interviewed orally, and the results used to come up with a decision that is in line with the best interests of the children. (Heidbrink, 2017).
The Children’s Mother
According to the information provided, the mother is a club dancer and has a history of drug abuse. According to the custody considerations procedures for assessing the fitness of parents’ to win custody cases, it has been written that drug abusers will not be granted custody over their children. A drug addict will choose drugs over their children, and in the long run, the children will have no one to look after them and provide the basic needs. The children in this scenario are teenagers who are going through the development stage and are in much of their own identity. Teenage years are very sensitive and require the parents to be present for the children so that they can explain each change in their bodies and how to deal with time. Due to her closeness to the children, a mother can relate well with her children and allow them to disclose the challenges they face in their developmental stages. In this case, the mother being a club dancer and a drug addict is considered unfit to cater to the children and thus cannot be granted custody over them. The mother is not enrolled in any recovery program and is still abusing drugs. The children love their mother and would love to spend time with her, but they argued that she leaves them alone, and is not present when they need her most. They are ready and willing to be with her if she gets psychological help to get over drugs. (Gates, 2016).
The Children’s Father
The father has post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and is an alcoholic. The symptom of PTSD cause problems in social situations and relationships and affects the day to day work of the affected person. PTSD causes an individual to have damaging thoughts about the people around them. Alcohol causes changes in social behaviour and changes calm individuals into aggressive ones and could lead to domestic violence. The father has been on a recovery program but fell out and went back to alcohol. Concerning the PTSD, he is on medication, but it is difficult to recover since he keeps going back to alcohol. If the father is granted custody of the children, he may not be able to supply the needs of the children. Owing to the information that one of the children is a girl, it will be important not to grant the father custody of the children. The main reason is that being an alcoholic and a person living with PTSD, the father is not stable mentally and could end up hurting the girl and involving in sexual harassment due to improper judgment. The key question here is, will the father sacrifice his drinking for the sake of the children, and if so, are there any chances of relapsing again. Fighting an addiction is not easy, and unless the father is willing to seek help, he is not the fit to be granted custody over the children. The children on their part have stated that their relationship with their father has been strained and he makes them comfortable when he is around them. (Gates, 2016).
The Foster Parents
The foster parents that are willing to take in the three children are black and hold on to the Muslim beliefs. The adoption of children who belong to a different race from the fosters’ race is known as transracial adoption. There has been a significant drop in the number of white children being adopted by black foster parents. However, some factors will always outshine the race factor in child custody. These factors include the state’s interests, the probable parents, and the child. Where the child agrees to be with the foster parents regardless of the race, the court rules out in favour of the adoptive parents. The issue of race in child custody brings about the call for equal protection. No race is superior to the other, and what is required at the end of the day is the general safety of the children. Although there have been concerns that children should be put in foster care with parents of the same race to achieve a sense of belonging, it is essential to note that the best interest of the children might not be met (Keddell, 2017).
The argument in the concern is that human beings become who they are due to the environment in which they were brought in. In this scenario, the foster parents have catered for other children who have turned out well, so they should be granted the three children’s adoptive placement. The foster couple is Muslims. Unless the parents have an issue with religion, the children should follow the religion of the foster parents. It isn’t easy to find a couple that has the same religion as the biological parents, thus limiting belief. In this case, the children are old enough to be consulted on the issue before they get converted. The question should be whether the foster parents will offer love and care to the children regardless of race and religion. After carefully analyzing the case, the adoptive couple should be considered by the judge since it is in line with the children’s best interests. Adopting other teenage children, they are well endowed in providing the teenagers’ guidance as they develop and grow into adulthood. The children are fine with being placed in foster care, and they argue that the placement should not be permanent, and their parents should be given a second chance once they come out of the recovery programs. (Laufer, 2017).
References
Heidbrink, L. (2017). Assessing parental fitness and care for unaccompanied children. RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences, 3(4), 37-52.
Gates, D. (2016). Alcohol/drug abuse issues in child custody evaluations. In Handbook of child custody (pp. 133-139). Springer, Cham.
Laufer, W. (Ed.). (2017). Adoption, race, and identity: From infancy to young adulthood. Routledge.
Keddell, E. (2017). Interpreting children’s best interests: Needs, attachment and decision-making. Journal of Social Work, 17(3), 324-342.