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RESEARCH SURVEY COLLECTION

California Protective Parent Association and Our Future Charitable Foundation are conducting an ongoing collection of data for a national research project. The project involves cases of children placed by family law courts into the custody of, or unsupervised visitation with their identified abusing parent.

The collection and compilation of this data is a very important step in promoting awareness, providing actual statistics, increasing funding possibilities, and bringing about family court reform and legislative change. Your input is greatly appreciated.

You can see the results of our preliminary survey after 22 participants on our Research Data page, and an updated May 2003 statistical report after 67 participants by visiting the California Protective Parents site by clicking here.



PROTECTIVE PARENT SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE
Re: Custody Outcomes of Children Reporting Incest/Battery

NOTE: If you are concerned about secure confidentiality, we suggest you PRINT this survey (from pdf format) and mail it to us by US mail at our CPPA/OCOF address. If you prefer and are not concerned with confidentiality, you may send it online, but be aware it is not on a secured server at this time.

Identifying information is for contact information purposes only, and will not be included in our data.

CONTACT INFORMATION
 Your Name:
 Mailing Address:
 City:
 State:
 Zip Code:
 Phone Number:
 Alternate Phone:
 E-mail Address:


Please answer all questions appropriate to your case.

CASE INFORMATION
     Case Name:
1.) Jurisdiction State:
2.) Jurisdiction County:
3.) Case Number:
4.) Year documents 1st filed:
5.) Case still in progress? Yes No


FINANCIAL COST
6.) Approximate sum of money paid related to case?
      (Include attorney fees, court filings, mediation, evaluations, supervised
      visitation, court ordered classes, therapy, etc.)
7.) Have you ever had to file bankruptcy as a result of litigation costs?
      Yes No


ATTORNEY HISTORY
8.) Have you ever been represented by an attorney in this case?
      Yes No
9.) If so, how many attorneys represented you in this case?

10.) Has your ex-spouse/partner ever had legal representation when
       you did not? Yes No


CHILDREN
11.) What were the ages of the child(ren) of this relationship at the time
       of the separation?
       Girl's ages:      Boy's ages:

12.) What is the approximate percentage of time each caretaker spent
       caring for the child(ren) before the separation?
        Mother:   %
        Father:    %
        Relative:      %
        Other:          %
13.) At the time of separation, did the primary caretaker maintain primary
       physical custody? Yes No


PRIMARY ISSUES
14.) Over which of the following issues were there disputes in your court
       case? (mark all that apply)
        Property settlement
        Spousal support
        Child support
        Move away
        Child custody/visitation
        Alcoholism
        Drug abuse/type of drugs:
        Other:

15.) Who initiated the litigation?
        Mother
        Father
16.) Were you the victim of domestic violence perpetrated upon you by
       the other parent? Yes No
17.) If so, did your children witness the violence?
       Yes No
18.) Did the violence begin or escalate after separation?
       Yes No
19.) Did your ex-spouse/partner ever threaten to take the child(ren) if
       you left the relationship? Yes No
20.) Were there allegations of child abuse made during your family
       court litigation? Yes No


ABUSE ALLEGATIONS
Complete the information below regarding allegations made during litigation, including who is the identified perpetrator and who first made the allegation (mark all that apply):
21.) Physical abuse allegation? Yes No
       Identified as perpetrator:FatherMotherOther:
       First allegated by:ChildFatherMotherOther:

22.) Sexual abuse allegation? Yes No
       Identified as perpetrator:FatherMotherOther:
       First allegated by:ChildFatherMotherOther:

23.) Verbal/emotional abuse allegation? Yes No
       Identified as perpetrator:FatherMotherOther:
       First allegated by:ChildFatherMotherOther:

24.) Neglect allegation? Yes No
       Identified as perpetrator:FatherMotherOther:
       First allegated by:ChildFatherMotherOther:

25.) Other allegation? Yes No
       Identified as perpetrator:FatherMotherOther:
       First allegated by:ChildFatherMotherOther:

26.) What was the age and gender of the first child at the onset of
       his/her abuse?   Boy Girl
27.) What was the age and gender of the second child at the onset of
       his/her abuse?   Boy Girl
28.) Did the child positively identify the other parent as the perpetrator?
       Yes No
29.) Was there medical/physical evidence of the abuse?
       Yes No
30.) Was there other corroborative evidence of the abuse?
       Yes No

31.) What were the child(ren)'s symptoms? (check all that apply)
        Sexual acting out
        Depression
        Stomach/head/other pain
        Dissociation
        Overwhelming anger/rage
        Nightmares/insomnia/sleep disorders
        Fears/phobias:
        Eating disorders
        Regression (bedwetting/leak feces/thumb sucking)
        Constipation/diarrhea
        Learning disability
        Attention deficit
        Suicide attempt
        Other:

32.) Did the child(ren) receive Victim of Crime funding for therapy
      related to the crime? Yes No


EX-SPOUSE/PARTNER HISTORY
33.) Prior to the separation, did your ex-spouse/partner receive any of the
        following labels by mental health professionals? (mark all that apply)
        Schizophrenia
        Bi-polar disorder
        Borderline personality
        Depression
        Anxiety
        Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
        Other:

34.) Does s/he have a history of alcohol and/or drug use?
        Yes No
35.) If so, is s/he clean and sober?
       Yes No     36.) Length of time clean and sober:

37.) Does s/he have a criminal history?
       Yes No
38.) If so, what was s/he...
       Arrested for?: 39.) Convicted of?:
       Description:



PROTECTIVE PARENT HISTORY
40.) Prior to the separation, did you receive any of the
        following labels by mental health professionals? (mark all that apply)
        Schizophrenia
        Bi-polar disorder
        Borderline personality
        Depression
        Anxiety
        Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
        Other:

41.) Do you have a history of alcohol and/or drug use?
        Yes No
42.) If so, are you clean and sober?
       Yes No     43.) Length of time clean and sober:

44.) Do you have a criminal history?
       Yes No
45.) If so, what were you...
       Arrested for? 46.) Convicted of?
       Description:



ADVISE
47.) Did anyone ever advise or insist that you not mention domestic
        violence or child abuse in family law court?
       Yes No
48.) If so, who advised you?
        Attorney
        Mediator
        Advocate
        Court personnel
        Other:

49.) Did your attorney ever tell you that pursuing court action against
       your ex-spouse/partner could negatively affect your case?
       Yes No


CHILD CUSTODY
50.) Was custody changed to the other parent over your objection, by
       an emergency court order, or without your court presence?
       Yes No
51.) Was unsupervised contact given to the identified offender despite
       evidence of violence or abuse?
       Yes No
52.) Was unsupervised contact given to the identified alcoholic/drug
        abuser without drug testing?
       Yes No N/A
53.) Was custody changed after you raised any of the following issues?
       (Mark all that apply)
        Violence
        Child abuse
        Substance abuse
        Criminal conduct
        Violations of court order
        Move-away
        Spousal support
        Child support
54.) Were judicial findings made stating that you were a danger to your
       child(ren) or that you were an unfit parent?
       Yes No
55.) Were you ever placed on supervised visitation?
       Yes No     56.) If so, length of time:

57.) Were you restricted from having any contact with your child(ren)?
       Yes No     58.) If so, length of time:

59.) Do you believe the other parent attempted to gain increased custody
       to avoid paying child support?
       Yes No
60.) Was financial discovery conducted in your case?
       Yes No
61.) Did you give up assets to keep custody?
       Yes No


COURT MEDIATION
62.) Did you participate in court-connected mediation regarding custody?
       Yes No
63.) If so, was mediation:
        Voluntary
        Court ordered
        Coerced by threats
64.) Were you required to meet face-to-face with an ex-spouse/partner
       who perpetrated violence and/or threats of harm?
       Yes No
65.) Did you lose any custody rights or contact with your children as a
       result of recommendations by a mediator?
       Yes No


EVALUATIONS
66.) Did you participate in court connected evaluations regarding
       custody?
       Yes No
67.) If so, who was evaluated?:
        Mother
        Father
        Child(ren)
        Others:

68.) Who selected the evaluator?:
        Mother
        Father
        Court
        Others:

69.) Who paid for the evaluator?:
        Mother
        Father
        Court
        Others:
        
70.) Total amount paid for custody evaluation:

71.) Did you lose any custody rights or contact with your children as a
        result of recommendations by the evaluator?
       Yes No


CHILD'S ATTORNEY
72.) Did your child(ren) have an attorney/guardian?
       Yes No
73.) If so, was he/she court appointed?:
       Yes No
74.) Who selected the child(ren)'s attorney?:
        Mother
        Father
        Court
        Others:

75.) Who paid for the child(ren)'s attorney?:
        Mother
        Father
        Court
        Others:

76.) Total amount paid for child attorney:

77.) Did this attorney aggressively advocate for the safety of your
        child(ren)?
       Yes No


SYSTEM SUPPORT
78.) Was the other parent ever Arrested and/or Prosecuted
       for spousal or child abuse?
       Yes No
79.) Was Child Protective Services ever contacted to intervene in your
       case?
       Yes No
80.) If so, did they protect your child?
       Yes No


EVIDENCE
81.) Did any court related professional ignore, minimize, or refute
       evidence of abuse in your case?
       Yes No
82.) If so, who?
        Mediator
        Evaluator
        Attorney for minor
        Judge
        Other:

83.) Did any court related professional label you with any of the
       following?
        Parent Alienation Syndrome
        Alienator
        Folie a duex
        Munchhausen's Syndrome by Proxy
        Delusional
        Schizophrenia
        Bi-polar disorder
        Borderline personality
        Depression
        Anxiety
        Post traumatic stress disorder
        Other rare/unscientific label:

84.) In your case, was Richard Gardener, MD.:
        An expert witness
        A consultant
        Quoted
        Other:



PROCESS
85.) Do you believe you were discriminated against for your
       attempts to protect yourself and/or your child(ren)?
       Yes No
86.) If so, do you believe this occurred due to:
        Unethics among court-related professionals
        Unethics between ex-spouse/partner & court-related professionals
        Financial/social status of your ex-spouse/partner
        Gender bias
        Other:

87.) Were evaluator or mediator recommendations ever provided to the
       court less than 10 days before a hearing?
       Yes No
88.) Were you prevented from seeing evaluations or reports that resulted
       in custody decisions?:        Yes No
89.) Were you ever denied the ability to adequately present your case
       (unable to present/examine witnesses, etc.)?:        Yes No
90.) Were hearings resulting in custody decisions held without your
       knowledge or ability to be present (ex parte)?:        Yes No
91.) Were hearings regarding custody and visitation ever conducted
       without a court reporter present?:        Yes No
92.) Were you ever threatened that talking publicly could result in
       damage to your case?:        Yes No
93.) Were court transcripts complete and accurate?:
       Yes No
94.) Were court transcripts denied or delayed?
       Yes No
95.) If so, how long were the transcripts denied?
       
96.) Have you ever been incarcerated in a jail or mental health
       facility due to the family law case?:        Yes No


CURRENT CUSTODY ARRANGEMENT
97.) What best describes your children's current custody
        arrangement? (mark all that apply)
        Primary with protective parent, supervised with perpetrator
        Primary with protective parent, UNsupervised with perpetrator
        Joint custody
        Full custody with perpetrator parent
        Supervised visitation with protective parent
        No contact with protective parent
        Other:

98.) Are you able to protect your child(ren)?
        Yes No
99.) Do you believe your child(ren) are still being abused?
        Yes No
100.) Did your child(ren) continue to report abuse after custody was
       changed to the identified abuser?:        Yes No
101.) Did you stop reporting suspected child abuse for fear your contact
       with your child(ren) will be terminated?:        Yes No
Do you give us permission to contact you for further information?
       Yes No


You may use the space below for comments or questions:


Thank you for contributing to this survey.

Please print and mail this survey to:
CPPA/OCOF 1731 Howe Ave. #168, Sacramento, CA 95825-9785

Or fax it to: (530) 758-9785 (phone: 800 441-7886)

Or submit it electronically by clicking the "send Request" button below. (Confidentiality respected, but not guaranteed, due to Internet security.)


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