How Do I Get a Needs of the Child Assessment?

Needs of the child assessments

Where decisions about children are concerned, the question for parents and courts is "What is in the best interests of the child?" Obviously, disagreements can arise around what's best when it comes to guardianship, parenting arrangements, or who has contact with a child. Section 37(2) of the Family Law act contains more specifics about the factors this consideration involves. In some cases, a neutral third party is needed to provide objectivity. Under s. 211, the court can appoint a person to assess one or more of:

1. the needs of a child in relation to a family law dispute,
2. the views of a child in relation to a family law dispute, or
3. the ability and willingness of a party to a family law dispute to satisfy the needs of a child.

Reports of the first kind are called needs of the child assessments. You might also hear them called section 211 reports. Under the old Family Relations Act the equivalent reports were called section 15 reports or custody and access reports. These reports are intended to be neutral and prepared without bias. They can be very helpful in resolving a dispute about the care of children. A court will usually give a great deal of weight to the assessor's opinion and recommendations.

Picking the assessor

Needs of the child assessments are routinely prepared by family justice counsellors, social workers, registered clinical counsellors, and psychologists.

Family justice counsellor reports

Family justice counsellors are public employees. Their reports are free as part of the Family Justice Report Service, but they are in very high demand and there is usually a long delay. The only way to be referred to the service is by court order. Once the Family Justice Report Service receives both a copy of the court order and the referral form from the court registry, the report will be placed on a list for assignment to a family justice counsellor.

Not all family justice counsellors are trained to prepare needs of the child asssessments, and the delay from requesting a report to getting it done might be up to a year. You can call the Family Justice Report Service at 604 851-7059 or find a Family Justice Centre near you to learn more about the service.

Private reports

A common alternative is private reports prepared by qualified psychologists. These can generally be done much faster, but they come at a high cost. The fees for reports prepared by psychologists typically range between $8,000 and $16,000, depending on the number of children involved, and the amount of work that needs to be done.

For private reports:

• If you have a counsellor, ask for a referral,
• If you have access to a lawyer, ask them to recommend someone, or
• Search for and read through cases from BC courts to see whose reports have been used in court (here is a link to some search results using the CanLII website: http://bit.ly/2v1Hts2).

Arranging for the assessment

The parties can agree that a needs of the child assessment will be prepared, and agree who should do the assessment, but if they can't agree, an application can be made to court for an order that an assessment be prepared. If you have to apply to court for such an order, make sure that you do your homework beforehand. You want to be able to tell the judge who you think should prepare the report, the anticipated costs involved, and the availability of the report writer. The order will usually specify who is being retained to prepare the report. The order can also specify how the report will be paid for.

Once an assessment is ordered or agreed to, you should get in touch with the person who will be performing the assessment. The assessor will tell you what happens next, when the interviewing process will begin, and when the completed assessment will likely be ready.

You can find more information about needs of the child assessments in the chapter Children in Family Law Matters.

This information applies to British Columbia, Canada. Last reviewed for legal accuracy by Inga Phillips, July 14, 2017.

JP Boyd on Family Law © John-Paul Boyd and Courthouse Libraries BC is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.5 Canada Licence.

Normally referred to as the "Supreme Court of British Columbia," this court hears most of the trials in this province. The Supreme Court is a court of inherent jurisdiction and has no limits on the sorts of claims it can hear or on the sorts of orders it can make. Decisions of the Provincial Court are appealed to the Supreme Court; decisions of the Supreme Court are appealed to the Court of Appeal. See "Court of Appeal," "jurisdiction," "Provincial Court" and "Supreme Court of Canada."

A court established and staffed by the provincial government, which includes Small Claims Court, Youth Court, and Family Court. The Provincial Court is the lowest level of court in British Columbia and is restricted in the sorts of matters it can deal with. It is, however, the most accessible of the two trial courts and no fees are charged to begin or defend a family law proceeding. The Family Court of the Provincial Court cannot deal with the division of family property or any claims under the Divorce Act. See "Divorce Act," "judge" and "jurisdiction."

A person who is younger than the legal age of majority, 19 in British Columbia. See "age of majority."

A term under the Family Law Act which describes the arrangements for parental responsibilities and parenting time among guardians, made in an order or agreement. "Parenting arrangements" does not include contact. See "contact," "guardian," "parental responsibilities" and "parenting time."

Under the Family Law Act, a term that describes the time a person who is not a guardian of a child, including a parent who is not a guardian, has with that child. Under the Divorce Act, a term that describes the time a person who is not a married spouse has with a child. See "guardian" and "parental responsibilities."

A person named in a court proceeding or joined to a proceeding who is neither the claimant nor the respondent. A third party may be joined to a proceeding where the respondent believes that the person has or shares some responsibility for the cause of action. See "action," "cause of action" and "party."

In law, a person named as an applicant, claimant, respondent, or third party in a court proceeding; someone asserting a claim in a court proceeding or against whom a claim has been brought. See "action" and "litigant."

In family law, an antiquated term used by the old Divorce Act to describe the right to possess a child and make parenting decisions concerning the child's health, welfare and upbringing. Replaced in the new Divorce Act with the term decision-making responsibility." See "access," "decision-making responsibility" and "parenting time."

Under the old Divorce Act, the schedule of a parent's time with their children under an order or agreement, replaced with "parenting time" and "contact" in the new Divorce Act. Access usually referred to the schedule of the parent with the least amount of time with the child. See "contact," "custody" and "parenting time."

In law, (1) a lawyer's advice to their client, (2) a lawyer's analysis of a legal problem, or (3) the views of an expert on an issue in an action. See "expert evidence" and "opinion evidence."

A judge of the superior courts of British Columbia, being the Supreme Court and the Court of Appeal.

In law, to formally deliver documents to a person in a manner that complies with the rules of court. Service may be ordinary (mailed or delivered to a litigant's address for service), personal (hand-delivered to a person), or substituted (performed in a way other than the rules normally require). See "address for delivery," "ordinary service," "personal service" and "substituted service."

A mandatory direction of the court that is binding and enforceable upon the parties to a court proceeding. An "interim order" is a temporary order made following the hearing of an interim application. A "final order" is a permanent order, made following the trial of the court proceeding or the parties' settlement, following which the only recourse open to a dissatisfied party is to appeal. Failing to abide by the terms of an order may constitute contempt of court. See "appeal," "consent order," "contempt of court," "decision" and "declaration."

A central office, located in each judicial district, at which the court files for each court proceeding in that district are maintained, and at which legal documents can be filed, searched and reviewed.

In law, a phrase used to indicate secondary relief or a secondary ground of relief in a claim or application, usually presented as an option to the primary relief or primary ground of relief sought. For example, "I'd like to have all of the house but, in the alternative, I'll take half." See “motion," “pleadings," and “relief."

A person licensed to practice law in a particular jurisdiction by that jurisdiction's law society. See "barrister and solicitor."

A request to the court that it make a specific order, usually on an interim or temporary basis, also called a "chambers application" or a "motion." See also "interim application" and "relief."

A person appointed by the federal or provincial government to manage and decide court proceedings in an impartial manner, independent of influence by the parties, the government, or agents of the government. The decisions of a judge are binding upon the parties to the proceeding, subject to appeal.

In law, a calculation of the allowable legal expenses of a party to a court proceeding, as determined by the Supreme Court Family Rules. The party who is most successful in a court proceeding is usually awarded their "costs" of the proceeding. See "account," "bill of costs," "Certificate of Costs or Expenses" and "lawyer's fees."