Forensic Consulting: Family Law
Currently, Dr. Kaufman is primarily offering consulting services to family law attorneys. He draws on his three decades of experience conducting court-ordered child custody evaluations, mediation (confidential and non-confidential), serving as a Parenting Coordinator, and providing post-divorce co-parenting counseling and direct parenting coaching. During these years, he has testified as an expert in thirteen counties in California and in Kings County, Washington.
Dr. Kaufman can assist attorneys at virtually all phases of a family law matter. Services offered include:
- Case analysis, especially in complex custody matters
- Educating attorneys and clients about current research and best practices in divorce related areas, child development, and mental health issues
- Work product review, including Parenting Plan Evaluations, Brief Focused Evaluations, Psychological and Neuropsychological Test Reports; Mediation Reports; Other Forensic Evaluations
- Ethical guidelines for mental health professionals, both in general and as pertains to family law matters
- Use and misuse of psychological testing in custody cases
- Assistance preparing direct and cross-examination questions of expert and percipient witnesses
Expert Witness
In addition to his broad experience and expertise in family law cases, Dr. Kaufman has been qualified as an expert in the following specific areas:
- Best practices and professional guidelines for Child Custody Evaluations
- Parenting plans for infants and very young children
- Alienation, Gatekeeping and Refuse-Resist Dynamics
- Parent Relocation
- Parenting plans for children of divorce who have Special Needs
- Substance Use Disorders in family law cases
- Issues in legal decision-making
- Impact of psychological and neuropsychological disorders and impairments on parenting
- Intimate Partner Violence (Domestic Violence)
The Best Interests of Children with Special Needs
Along with his collaborator, Daniel Pickar, PhD, ABPP, Dr. Kaufman has written extensively on addressing the best interests of children with Special Needs in divorced and separated families. This includes developing a Risk-Assessment Model that informs parenting plan decisions and recommendations for these families, as well as describing the unique presentation of restrictive gatekeeping dynamics and challenges for dispute resolution.