Report 2009-109 Recommendation 11 Responses

Report 2009-109: Sacramento and Marin Superior Courts: Both Courts Need to Ensure That Family Court Appointees Have Necessary Qualifications, Improve Administrative Policies and Procedures, and Comply With Laws and Rules (Release Date: January 2011)

Recommendation #11 To: Superior Court of California, County of Sacramento

To make certain that the FCS evaluators are qualified, the Sacramento family court should ensure that FCS evaluators attach certificates for their domestic violence training to each 3111 evaluation report they prepare.

1-Year Agency Response

The Sacramento Superior Court adopted a local rule effective January 1, 2012, that requires all court-appointed child custody evaluators to annually lodge with the court a sworn affidavit that they have completed all required domestic violence training and instruction required by statute and/or California Rules of Court. In the absence of an affidavit, the child custody evaluators must attach copies of their certificates of completion of the required training to each child custody evaluation report they submit to the court. However, the court reported to us that effective July 2011 FCS will no longer conduct Family Code Section 3111 evaluations. The court cited budget reductions as its reasons for discontinuing this service. (See 2013-406, p. 154)

California State Auditor's Assessment of 1-Year Status: Fully Implemented

All Recommendations in 2009-109

Agency responses received after June 2013 are posted verbatim.