Placer County Substance Abuse Evaluations, Part 2

by | Jan 10, 2014 | Firm News |

Placer County substance abuse evaluations can be very complicated and frustrating in Placer County Family Law cases. The report is one expert witness’ description of his/her observations about the parent’s use of alcohol or alleged use of drugs. It is not uncommon for parties to feel that the counselor takes a “guilty before proven innocent” approach. In our experience, this impression is often correct because the substance abuse counselor and the court have an obligation to investigate and protect matters that affect the children’s best interests. Also, there are significant numbers of alcohol abuse and drug abuse cases present in the Placer County court system.

Placer County judges and mediators rely upon the substance abuse counselor’s evaluations. If the counselor uncovers a history of substance abuse and/or a present indication of substance abuse, the counselor will make recommendations relating to visitation plans that help protect the safety of the children. The court will consider the counselor’s opinion and likely include it in its custody orders.

Thus, it is very important to have family law attorney representation before and throughout the substance evaluation process. The ill-informed parent can do tremendous damage to their Placer County custody case by trying to wing it or walking in to their substance abuse evaluation unprepared. It is important that each parent is prepared to give the court, the mediator and the substance abuse evaluator all the information so that no inappropriate or unfair substance abuse evaluations conclusions are reached. It is also important to prepare for the interview in advance and line up relevant witnesses who can testify to the party’s situation.

If you are involved in a Placer Child Custody case and are dealing with substance abuse allegations and a pending substance abuse evaluation, please do not hesitate to call us for a free half-hour consultation. We will discuss your case and discuss the steps you should take to prepare your case. Please contact us today.