Psychological Bonding Evaluations in Termination of Parental Rights Cases

Abstract

Involuntary termination of parental rights is one of the most extreme steps the court can take in intractable child abuse cases. Frequently, the court or the child protection agency requires a psychological evaluation of biological or foster parents under these circumstances. One core component of such evaluations is an assessment of the child's psychological bond with various caretakers, sometimes referred to as a bonding evaluation. This article describes the principles underlying such psychological evaluations and describes accepted methods of conducting these evaluations.