Challenges and considerations in virtual (remote) parenting plan evaluations: Evaluator experiences and perceptions

Abstract

This study aimed to explore parenting plan evaluators' experiences (child custody evaluators) as they adopted virtual (remote) methods for conducting evaluations during the global pandemic. This study used a retrospective cross-sectional design, surveying evaluators at two different points in time to assess their experiences with conducting virtual evaluations. Evaluators were recruited from the roster list of the Office of the Children's Lawyer in Ontario and were asked to complete an online survey at the start of the pandemic (April 2020) and then again 7 months later (November 2020). One hundred sixty-one (n = 161) participants completed the online survey at time 1, and sixty-one (n = 61) at time 2. Most of the participants had received fewer than 5 hours of professional training related to the use of technology before the global pandemic. Findings indicate that while some evaluators adapted to virtual methods, concerns about confidentiality, third-party influence, and rapport building persisted.Several factors impacted the increased confidence in using the technology, including training, supervision, the support provided to the evaluators, and the culture of the family court system that embraced the use of technology during the pandemic. Implications include when evaluators should consider virtual methods, employ a hybrid approach, and when virtual methods may be inappropriate.