5.225 Update Training 2006

Matthew J. Sullivan, Ph.D. is a clinical psychologist (#PSY 10214) in private practice in Palo Alto, California. For 20 years he has specialized in working with high-conflict child custody cases. He has served in numerous court-appointed roles—custody evaluator, mediator, special master—in the courts, and provides expert testimony in custody matters in jurisdictions across the country. He has written articles, made presentations, and provided trainings at numerous national and international venues on topics such as high-conflict divorce, parent coordination, and child alienation. He is currently serving on the editorial board of the Journal of Child Custody and the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts (AFCC) Task Force on Parenting Coordination.

Child Custody Update Training for California Court Rules 5.225 & 5.230
Two Days • 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. • 12.0 C.E. Hours
TESTIMONIAL Michael...Since I took that critical forensic class three years ago, I've probably made about $30,000 doing evaluations for the courts. Now I'm starting to get custody evaluations from the court since I'm on their panel, and they go for about $4,000 each. You're the man!--Dr. M.H. (Received April 4, 2006) COURSE DESCRIPTION California Court Rules 5.225 and 5.230 (Court Rules 1257.4 and 1257.7, respectively, were renumbered in January 2003) require annual update training beginning in the calendar year following the completion of the initial 40-hour training in order to continue serving as a court-appointed child custody evaluator. Specifically, Rule 5.225 requires eight hours of annual update training in child custody, and Rule 5.230 requires four hours of annual update training in domestic violence. For your convenience, we've created one two-day course to satisfy both court rules. Upon completion of both days, you will receive one certificate of completion indicating that you have received eight hours of training in compliance with Rule 5.225 and four hours of training in compliance with Rule 5.230. This 12-hour course provides annual update training for current custody evaluators, and can be counted towards the 40-hour initial training requirement for licensed mental health professionals seeking to qualify to provide child custody evaluations for the courts in California. NOTE: The course outline or agenda for this training has been approved as corresponding to subject areas specified in California Rules of Court, rule 5.225(e)(1)-(21). The views expressed in this training are those of the trainer and do not necessarily represent the official positions or policies of th e Judicial Council of California or the Administrative Office of the Courts. ARE YOU REQUIRED TO TAKE THIS COURSE? Please note that the courts require this training annually; that is, every year. This is in contrast to your licensing board that sets requirements to be met every licensing cycle; that is, every two years. In other words, as a child custody evaluator, during your licensing cycle you will be completing a total of 16 hours of child custody update training along with eight hours of domestic violence update training for a total of 24 hours. Thus, you will only need to earn an additional 12 hours of training, of which at least four hours (psychologists) or six hours (MFTs & LCSWs) must be in laws and ethics. FOR MORE INFORMATION Click here to download a two-page list of Frequently Asked Questions about California Court Rules 5.225 and 5.230. To learn more about California Court Rules pertaining to child custody, including rules 5.225 and 5.330, visit: http://www.courtinfo.ca.gov/rules or click here and select Title Five, Special Rules for Trial Courts (Rules 5.10-5.500) in the PDF format (535 pages). Once downloaded, go to Chapter 5—Child Custody (28 pages) located on pages 827-860 of Title Five, and corresponding to pages 65-98 of your PDF document. From Acrobat Reader, print pages 65-98 of your PDF document.
TOPICS In general, this course will feature updates and best practices on selected content areas specified in California Court Rule 5.225(e)(1)-(21) and Rule 5.230(d)(1)(A)(i)-(v). More specifically, Dr. Sullivan’s presentation will focus on a conceptual understanding of high conflict child custody evaluation procedures and recommendations that address the special issues in high conflict divorce. These issues include Child Alienation and Estrangement, Domestic Violence, Parallel Parenting Plans, Parenting Coordination (Special Master), and moving parents out of the court system. Click here to download the course outline in an Adobe PDF format. Click here to download Dr. Robert Halon's 19-page journal article in an Adobe PDF format regarding the use of the MCMI-III in child custody cases.
GOALS At the conclusion of this program you should be better able to: • Understand the dynamics of high conflict divorces. • Serve as a court-appointed expert in child custody matters.
SPEAKER PROFILE
Photo Coming Soon	Matthew J. Sullivan, Ph.D. is a clinical psychologist (#PSY 10214) in private practice in Palo Alto, California. For 20 years he has specialized in working with high-conflict child custody cases. He has served in numerous court-appointed roles—custody evaluator, mediator, special master—in the courts, and provides expert testimony in custody matters in jurisdictions across the country. He has written articles, made presentations, and provided trainings at numerous national and international venues on topics such as high-conflict divorce, parent coordination, and child alienation. He is currently serving on the editorial board of the Journal of Child Custody and the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts (AFCC) Task Force on Parenting Coordination.