Colorado Resources

Note that some or all of these resources are the work product partly or solely of members of the lobbying groups, identified, infra, which members are also on various committees responsible for creating said resources. See, e.g., the Table of Committees and Names. See also MDIC membership listing.

 

Chief Justice Directive 04-08 (amended 01/22/2008), directive concerning court appointments of child and family investigators pursuant to C.R.S. § 14-10-116. Click here for a side-by-side comparison of the 2005 and 2008 iterations (additions are red and deletions are noted off to the right margin).

Limitations on Testimony by Mental Health Clinicians in Domestic Actions: Practical and Ethical Considerations (circa 2007), article by attorney Denise K. Lane, Jr. and originally found on her site here

Parenting Coordinator Guidelines (November, 2007), presented by the Colorado Supreme Court Standing Committee on Family Issues

Child and Family Investigator Standards in Colorado. Abstract: article by Robert M. Smith, David Littman, Lael Montgomery and sponsored by the CBA Family Law Section, which article presents and explains the Standards for Child and Family Investigators ("CFIs") that are found in Chief Justice Directive 04-08.

Parenting Coordinator: Understanding this New Role 35 Colo.Law. 31 (February 2006) Abstract: Feb. 2006 article, by lobbyist/attorney, Beth Henson, discusses the creation of the roles of parenting coordinators, domestic relations decision-makers, and CRS 14-10-128.5 arbitrators, and provides a brief overview of parenting coordination legislation in other states. (This article, reproduced by permission, © 2006 Colorado Bar Association. (A cache copy of the article is located here).

The Role of the CFI and CLR in Colorado First Ed. (Robert M. Smith ed., CLE in Colo., Inc., Supp. 2005)  Abstract:  The playbook of Child and Family Investigators and Child Legal Representatives.

Special Advocates - Some Fundamentals, June 2001 article by T. Peter Craven, appearing in 30 Colo.Law. No. 6 at p. 39

Commission on Families in the Colorado Courts Final Report, August 2002 Abstract: Among other things, the Commission recommended that "A committee should be created, consisting of the various court-related personnel to develop standards of practice in the court context . . . The committee should address the following: . . . assure that the statutory provisions place court-appointed professionals' accountability for complying with the standards of practice with their professional regulatory board or agency."

This Report contains a lengthy list of citizen written submissions regarding special advocates, which were taken into consideration. After opening the PDF, to a search for, "special advocate" using your [ctrl] + [f] keys.

Re-Assessing the Use of Special Advocates: A Legal and Mental Health Perspective. Abstract: article for the Family Law Section Newsletter by Dana Cogan, M.D. and Albert M. Bonin, Esq.  (A cache copy of the article, as found in the public area of the Colorado Bar Association Web site, is here).

Division of the GAL Role in Domestic Relations Cases, 27 Colo. Law. 45 (April 1998)

Privatizing Family Law Adjudications: Issues and Procedures  Abstract: August 2005 article by Jackie St. Joan, reviews the role of appointed judges, masters, domestic relations decision-makers, and arbitrators as adjudicators in family law cases.  Further, the article contains information on initiating, implementing and terminating private adjudication and discusses the new Colo.R.Civ.P. 122 and Canon 9, Code of Judicial Conduct.  (A cache copy of this article is located here).

Division of Registrations, Mental Health Section 2003 "Sunset Review" - see numbered pages 40 - 42 (appearing as 46-48 of 97) acknowledging an unresolved pervasive problem with unaccountable appointees under C.R.S. §§ 12-43-215(7), 14-10-116 & 14-10-127 and recommending that the courts (rather than D.o.R.A.) should take remedial action.

Draft/proposed version of Guidelines Concerning Court Appointments of Decision-Makers Pursuant to C.R.S. § 14-10-128.3

CFIs and APR Evaluators—Similarities and Differences, an article discussing the similarities and differences between a child and family investigation under CRS § 14-10-116.5 and an allocation of parental responsibilities evaluation under CRS § 14-10-127, as well as the significance of those similarities and differences.

 

Resources, general

Questioning the Mental Health Expert's Custody Report, by Ira Daniel Turkat, Ph.D. (as appeared in the American Journal of Family Law, Vol 7, 175-179 (1993)

Guidelines for Child Custody Evaluations in Divorce Proceedings, published in the 49 American Psychologist No. 7 (July 1994)

Critiquing a Colleague's Forensic Advisory Report: A Suggested Protocol for Application to Child Custody Evaluations Abstract: The purpose of this article, by Jonathan W. Gould, Ph.D., H. D. ("De") Kirkpatrick, Ph.D., William G. Austin, Ph.D. and David A. Martindale, Ph.D., ABPP is to propose a protocol within which to frame a critique or critical review of a colleague's custody evaluation.

Child Custody Evaluation Practices: A Survey of Experienced Professionals (Revisited)

The Politics of Family Destruction, by Stephen Baskerville, Ph.D., author of Taken Into Custody: The War Against Fathers, Marriage, and the Family, (Cumberland House, 2007) and internationally known for commentary on the family courts in America and other democracies.

American Bar Association Section of Family Law Standards of Practice for Lawyers Representing Children in Custody Cases, published August 2003

 

Baskerville, Stephen, Ph.D, Welfare and the Road to Serfdom, Institute for Policy Innovation, June 15, 2007

 

last updated: 07/29/2008