There are two different assessments offered by our team: Views of the Child Reports and Section 211 Assessments. Parents often have questions about these assessments, such as:
Will it be stressful for my children?
The Sand Story psychologists have many years of experience working with children of all ages. We utilize a child focussed approach and work to provide a warm environment in which children and youth can feel safe and comfortable during this process.
How do I explain the assessment to my children?
We recommend being truthful with your children in a way that is developmentally appropriate. For example, “Mommy & Daddy are working on finding the best solution for our family, and this person is going to help us with that.”
How much does the assessment cost?
The needs of each family are always different. Depending on the number of family members involved, along with an understanding of the family’s history, we will be able to provide a more accurate estimate. Please contact our Assessment Coordinator at 604-568-8108 to request an intake questionnaire.
How do I know which assessment I need?
These two assessments differ greatly in the detail they provide and how comprehensive they are. A Views of the Child Report offers the views of your child from an unbiased source. This assessment is great if you feel that it is important for the court to hear directly from your child or that the two parents are not understanding what the child wants. It is completed after two 2-hour sessions. The parents only provide their goals for the assessment and their views are not a part of the assessment process. The report focusses only on the child’s views.
A Section 211 report may be needed if the two parents are not able to agree on a way to co-parent. Disagreements over parenting time, education, medical issues and decision making rights that cannot be resolved are typically reasons parents choose to complete a Section 211. In this assessment, all family members are involved over multiple sessions.
Views of the Child Report
What is a Views of the Child Report?
A Views of the Child (VOC) report is a report that assists the family court process by reporting the perspective of the child or adolescent in the custody dispute. These reports are beneficial to inform the courts in situations where both parties of a custody dispute are representing conflicting viewpoints of the children.
What does a Views of the Child Report Include?
The children are interviewed by a clinician about their life and what they want with respect to parenting time. Usually there are two interview sessions per child. These views are then relayed in a report for the court. The clinician will indicate if it appears that a child has been coached as to what to say, and may have some recommendations based on the child’s presentation. All of the clinicians who provide these reports have extensive training in child psychology and are trained to provide an unbiased and factual representation of the child’s wishes. A VOC report does not provide recommendations with respect to parenting time and access, only a Section 211 assessment that includes both parents can recommend parenting schedules.
Section 211 Assessments
What is a Section 211 Assessment?
When a family is going through separation or divorce, many parents have a difficult time agreeing on how to manage parenting time. A Section 211 report is intended to assist the parents and the court to make decisions about parenting time that is in the best interests and for the well-being of the child. Different professionals offer Section 211 assessments, however, only a registered psychologist is able to include formalized assessment tools to explore the emotional functioning and coping of each member of the family.
What does an Assessment 211 include?
The Section 211 assessment includes interviews with all family members, formal psychological testing, observations of parent-child interactions, document review, and recommendations for the court.