Providing Forensic and Clinical Psychological Services to the Legal Community - Child Custody Evaluations

Dr. Baccus has an extensive background in proving the Franklin County Court with Child Custody Evaluations priding himself in ensuring the delivery of thorough, expeditious evaluations that are both productive and helpful. With a broad Clinical background, Dr. Baccus incorporates excellent assessment skills, superior communication skills and substantial experience in completing Psychological Evaluations in a legal setting. Utilizing training and experience with a variety of Psychological testing instruments accompanied with both structured and unstructured interviewing techniques. The information he provides will assist you to make informed strategy decisions for your clients.

Our Mission is to provide time efficient, thorough, evaluations which are sensitive to both the social and cultural background of the evaluate. Consistent delivery of ethically and profession- ally sound reports comprising a cost effective service to the legal community.

1998 Statistics claim there was one divorce finalized in America every thirteen seconds, others espouse that one in every two marriages in the United States ends in divorce, with as many as 10% of those involving custody litigation. There seems to be little or no debate to suggest otherwise. In fact the situation seems to worsen not improve. It is clear that the provision of Evaluations that offer simple English, unbiased opinion on visitation and custody issues for minors is paramount to the family law system. The 1991 Census Bureau quoted that 37.9% of fathers have no access or visitation rights, while 40% of mothers reported that they had interfered with the non-custodial father's visitation on at least one occasion. The impacts of divorce and custody are tremendously significant, further highlighting the need for comprehensive and insightful evaluations that empower the decision makers in the hope that the impacts for future generations are minimized by the appropriate decisions being made by the Courts.

Demographic Background

For a great number of years now Dr. Baccus has felt the quality of evaluations provided to the court could be improved. To that end he has dedicated himself to the provision of superior quality evaluations that provide test-substantiated information and informed opinions that offer practical help for the court to render a custody decision. Tests used are all data based and designed specifically for Custody Decisions. Dr. Baccus utilizes many testing instruments, including the Bricklin Custody Tests. "I have found over the years, that other objective tests have a response bias that result in clients choosing answers that are socially desireable rather than factual. The Bricklin tests effectively avoid that bias". Dr. Baccus will couple data sourced with information he obtains by utilizing his engaging interviewing style. Quick rapport building with his clients facilitates the obtaining of the best and most accurate results in the time available. Many factors are examined including evaluating whether the parents present with any serious psychological issues. Evaluating the parents-child relationship, and to identify any conflict issues between the parents. Other considerations are the ongoing nurturing care of the child(ren) and which parent is most likely to consistently provide that care. Critical issues such as how the parent formulates solutions to typical child related issues help to build an objective measure of which parent can provide the better care. Getting this right is something that Dr. Baccus is tremendously passionate about. "In my private practice I see too many broken lives, often I am caused to wonder if a better decision could have been made for this child. Could we have avoided this outcome? Now, I work not only to assess the current situation, but I also work extremely hard to predict future situations for children of divorce. Attempting to break the cycles that have infected our society is something I have dedicated myself to."

Lifting the bar on Custody Evaluations

In preparing the Evaluation Dr.Baccus emphasizes that his duty is not to the parents of the child(ren) reinforcing that he is ethically obligated to recommend what is best for the child(ren) regardless of where the request for evaluation has originated.

Ethical Obligation Assurance

Cost for Services

The costing for all evaluations are based on the detail required for the report. Dr. Baccus will happily discuss your individual and specific needs and prepare costing accordingly.

Service Delivery Assurance

Ability to prioritize, meet deadlines working to timeframes set by the court, and understanding that there will be occasions where an evaluation is deemed urgent at short notice are all considerations Dr. Baccus has built his service commitment around. Typically an evaluation can be prepared within 5 working days of having seen the client. Consistent delivery of superior quality evaluations is assured. Within the report the facts of each case will be discussed and opinion regarding the Psychological issues that are present will be rendered in clear, simple language.

The key to providing comprehensive clinical and forensic evaluations lies in the ability to synergize the data collected from testing with knowledge and experience to clearly understand and communicate recommendations for custody that will be in the best possible interest of the child(ren). Dr. Baccus demonstrates this unique balance. Couple that with his understanding of family relationships and interpersonal dynamics, his appreciation for child and adult developmental issues and his familiarity with family law in Ohio, and your choice for the clinical examination and expert evaluation for your client will hopefully be made much easier.

Summary