The chapter examines the role of parents in the welfare and upbringing of children, including parents’ own history and mental health and how and when psychologists might be asked to prepare a report on parenting and parent capacity. The chapter describes the changing demands as the baby grows and eventually becomes an adolescent, along with possible interventions at various ages, with attachment as a helpful overarching theory, both in the parent’s history and the current environment of the child. The importance of cultural expectations, genetics and environment are examined. Materials and measures are suggested as helpful in the reliable and valid assessment of parenting and a framework for the preparation of a report on parenting is described.

This chapter provides an overview of forensic mental health assessments in criminal, civil, and juvenile and family court settings. We begin with a general discussion of the nature and method of forensic assessment, highlighting the various data sources on which a forensic assessment is based and the hypothesis testing nature of the evaluation process. We then turn to an overview of the most common types of assessments conducted within the criminal forensic context (adjudicative competence, criminal responsibility, risk assessment and management), the civil forensic context (personal injury, disability determination, worker’s compensation), and the juvenile and family court contexts (parenting capacity, child custody, juvenile waiver to criminal court). Finally, we end with a general discussion of the importance of the written evaluation report.