In cases where child custody and access issues are heavily contested, the Court may order a Custody & Access Evaluation Report.

In this exercise, counsellors carry out a thorough assessment on relevant factors such as;

• the needs and wishes of the child
• care arrangements
• the strengths and weaknesses of each parent
• the relationship of the child with each parent and other family members
• the relationship between the parents

It should be noted that while counsellors will consider the wishes of the children, they will also take into account the children’s maturity and if they had been unduly influenced by either parent.

Each parent’s ability to care for and educate the child will also be evaluated.

The focus of the counsellors in this report will be on the welfare of the child and factors that will enhance the development of the child.

The custody & access evaluation report, containing information obtained by the counsellors, including recommendations on parenting plans moving forward and their opinions, will be provided to the Court. This will be an important source of information for the Court when deciding issues relating to custody and access.