Title
Title
Rules and Forms | Family Law: Legislative Addition of New Category of Child Custody Evaluator (Action Required)
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Summary
Summary
The Family and Juvenile Law Advisory Committee recommends amending a rule of court and revising two Judicial Council forms for use in family law custody proceedings. These changes are necessitated by Assembly Bill 2296 (Stats. 2018, ch. 389), which added to Family Code section 3110.5(c)(5) an additional category of licensed child custody evaluator to those qualified to provide court-connected and private child custody evaluations.
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Recommendation
Recommendation
The Family and Juvenile Law Advisory committee recommends that the Judicial Council, effective January 1, 2020:
1. Amend rule 5.225 of the California Rules of Court to add “Professional clinical counselor qualified to assess couples and families” to the category of evaluators; and
2. Revise item 4a on Declaration of Court-Connected Child Custody Evaluator Regarding Qualifications (form FL-325) and on Declaration of Private Child Custody Evaluator Regarding Qualifications (form FL-326) to include “professional clinical counselor qualified to assess couples and families.”