Me Alicia D'Alessandro
Alicia D’Alessandro focuses her practice on family law, particularly child custody, divorce, support and filiation. Thorough and caring, she supports her clients with a human, structured approach tailored to their circumstances.
View profileBook an appointmentIn family disputes, a psychosocial assessment plays an important role in helping judges make fair decisions that serve the interests of the children. Whether you are a parent, a child or a family member involved in legal proceedings, understanding why this assessment matters and how it works can be a real help.
Our family lawyers explain why this evaluation by a social worker or a psychologist can be crucial, how it works and what makes it unique.
Public assessments versus private assessments
Public assessments
A “public” assessment is one carried out by the Superior Court’s Psychosocial Assessment Service. It is usually prepared by a social worker. A public assessment is free, but it must be authorized by the court, even if both parents agree to it.
Private assessments
A “private” assessment is one carried out by a psychologist or a social worker at the parents’ initiative and expense. Unlike a public assessment, a private assessment can be filed without the court’s authorization if both parents consent to it. The assessment costs several thousand dollars. The parents can share these costs equally or unequally.
Where a parent’s mental health, parental alienation or a loyalty conflict is at issue, a psychologist rather than a social worker must be retained.
Applying for a psychosocial assessment
After a separation, parents of minor children sometimes cannot agree on the custody arrangements. In some cases, one parent may have concerns about the other parent’s ability to care for the children properly, for various reasons, such as:
- Conjugal or family violence;
- A parent’s excessive use of drugs and/or alcohol;
- A parent’s mental health problems;
- A loyalty conflict or parental alienation;
A parent can then, alone or with the other parent’s consent, ask a Superior Court judge to order the preparation of a psychosocial assessment report (a “public” assessment). A judge can also order this assessment on their own initiative, without the parents having requested it.
Our lawyers can help you draft your application for a psychosocial assessment and present it to the court. Your application can be heard by a judge quickly, within 10 days after the other party receives it.
When it hears an application for a psychosocial assessment, the court relies only on short written statements from the parties and brief arguments from the lawyers. Usually, no witnesses are heard and the hearing lasts no more than 30 minutes.
In all judicial districts within the Québec division, the court will only authorize an application for a psychosocial assessment in one of the following situations:
- A living environment with safety and/or social problems;
- Drug and/or alcohol use;
- A mental health problem;
- Violent, sexual or inappropriate behaviour;
- Difficulty meeting a child’s special needs (health, school or other);
- A move;
- A child who refuses to see a parent;
- A breakdown in the parent-child relationship, or an imminent risk of one;
- Parental alienation;
In all cases, the court must be convinced that the assessment is necessary, even if both parents consent to it. Whether or not it authorizes the psychosocial assessment, the judge issues a written decision setting out the reasons.
If the judge orders a psychosocial assessment, the judge is usually seized of the case. This means that the same judge will hear the trial, in particular to decide the child’s custody arrangements, if applicable.
If the judge grants the application for a psychosocial assessment, the judgment specifies the issues the expert must examine in the analysis.
For a private assessment (which does not require the court’s authorization, only the consent of both parents), the parents and their lawyers tell the expert which issues to analyze.
Here are some examples of issues that can be submitted to the expert for analysis:
- How each parent functions (for example, any diagnoses);
- How each child functions (behaviour, academic performance, etc.);
- How each household functions (for example, routines);
- The quality of each parent’s relationship with the child;
- The quality of the relationship between the parents;
- Each parent’s ability to look after the child’s well-being;
- Any problem situations;
Not sure whether a psychosocial assessment could take place in your situation, or whether the court would authorize it? Contact us so our lawyers can give you more information or suggest an alternative solution.
How does a psychosocial assessment work?
For a public assessment, the Superior Court’s Psychosocial Assessment Service assigns one of its experts to carry out the assessment. For a private assessment, the parents choose the expert they want to retain.
Usually, the expert meets with each parent and each child individually. The expert also meets with each parent in the presence of the children. The expert may also contact any other relevant person in the lives of the parents and/or the children, such as a health professional, a teacher, a daycare educator or a family member. The expert generally asks the parents to fill out questionnaires to learn about their family situation.
The expert reviews the proceedings and the evidence filed in the court record. The parents can also give the expert documents such as messages they have exchanged, medical records or school documents. The expert sometimes also reviews a parent’s medical record.
A parent cannot be forced to take part in the psychosocial assessment process. However, if a parent refuses to cooperate, the court could draw conclusions that are unfavourable to that parent.
What happens after the assessment?
At the end of the analysis, the expert writes a report. This report usually contains:
- A summary of the personal situation of the parents and the children;
- A summary of each parent’s version of the facts;
- The expert’s observations;
- The expert’s recommendations on the child’s custody.
The expert may also make any other recommendations they consider appropriate on any other matter that directly or indirectly concerns the child. For example, the expert may recommend:
- That one of the parents attend follow-up sessions at a CLSC to improve their parenting skills;
- That the parents take part in workshops together to improve their communication;
- That the children receive follow-up support to help them through their parents’ separation.
When the court asks the Superior Court’s Psychosocial Assessment Service to prepare a psychosocial assessment (a “public” assessment), the Service normally has 3 months to complete it. The expert files the assessment report “under seal” in the court record. This means it remains confidential and, except in special cases, only the judge, the expert, the parents and the parents’ lawyers can access it. The judge then sends the assessment report to the parents’ lawyers. For a private assessment, the expert sends the report directly to the parents or their lawyers.
Contesting the recommendations of a psychosocial assessment
If you disagree with the recommendations of a psychosocial assessment, our lawyers can help you contest them in court. In that case, you can also have a counter-assessment prepared by a new expert (a psychologist or a social worker).
How the court uses the psychosocial assessment report
The purpose of the assessment is to inform the court, not to dictate the decision it must make in the child custody case. The court can therefore decide to depart from the expert’s recommendations. However, case law tells us that the court cannot substitute its opinion for the expert’s without a serious reason. In practice, courts often follow the recommendations in the expert’s report.
How can our lawyers help you?
If you are going through a separation or think you may be in the near future, do not hesitate to contact our family lawyers to get legal services suited to your situation. In particular, our lawyers can:
- Give you a legal opinion on whether a psychosocial assessment is needed in your case and on the application’s chances of success;
- Recommend alternatives if a psychosocial assessment is not the appropriate procedure;
- Draft your application for a psychosocial assessment or prepare a contestation of the other parent’s application;
- Represent you at the hearing on the application for a psychosocial assessment;
- Prepare you for your meetings with the expert;
- Contest the recommendations of the psychosocial assessment in court, or represent you against a parent who is contesting them;
- Retain a private expert to prepare a counter-assessment;
- Negotiate and prepare an out-of-court agreement to resolve the dispute.
Note: The information above is general in nature and does not constitute legal advice. For advice on your particular legal situation, feel free to contact one of our lawyers in Québec City or Lévis.
