Child Custody Evaluations and Domestic Violence: Free seminar

January 22, 2015 at 9:42 AM

The New Zealand Family Violence Clearinghouse is pleased to host a seminar presented by Daniel Saunders PhD (visiting from USA).

When: Wednesday 18 March 2015, 10-11.30am

Where: Function Hall 730-220, University of Auckland, Tāmaki campus, 261 Morrin Rd, Glen Innes

Cost: Free

Designed for: Family lawyers, judges, court staff, advocates. All welcome.

When couples separate, the risk of intimate partner violence, abuse, harassment and homicide often continues or increases. Safety and human rights concerns in custody-visitation proceedings are gaining increased attention because professionals often do not detect abuse, do not take it seriously, or apply non-legal factors in their determinations. This presentation will highlight new US research findings on child custody evaluations in cases involving domestic violence, focusing on the beliefs and recommendations of the professionals involved in these determinations. Implications of the research for policy and practice will be described.

Daniel Saunders is Professor in the School of Social Work at the University of Michigan, USA. He established one of the first intervention programs for men who batter and helped to establish crisis and advocacy programs for battered women in the 1970s. His research, teaching, and service centre on the problems of dating and domestic violence. His specific studies focus on offender program evaluation, the traumatic effects of victimisation, and the response of professionals and the public to dating and domestic violence. He has testified as an expert witness in cases of domestic homicide and custody cases involving domestic abuse. Professor Saunders' most recent projects involve an evaluation of supervised visitation programs for the children of battered women and a survey of child custody evaluators regarding their beliefs and recommendations about child custody/access in domestic abuse cases.

 

Places are limited so please book early to avoid disappointment.

Please RSVP by email to Nicola Paton, n.paton@auckland.ac.nz.

For questions, phone (09) 923-5873.

Directions to Tāmaki campus

Free visitor parking available on campus. Close to Glen Innes train station.
Accessible venue.



Category: Training