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→Non-evaluative views of the child reports
Non-evaluative views of the child reports, which are also sometimes called "hear the child reports" and "voice of the child reports," are prepared by mental health professionals, by lawyers, and by anyone else who's been trained to speak with children and report on their views. People who aren't mental health professionals may not be able to provide a report about the views of children younger than five or six, depending on the child's maturity and verbal skills.
These reports are different from evaluative views of the child reports because the person who speaks to the children isn't being asked to provide an opinion or an assessment of what the children have said, they're just being asked to describe what the children have told them. The person who speaks to the children will usually ask the children questions about life before their parents separated, what their parents' separation was like, life after separation, and what they would like for the future. The person who speaks to the children can also be asked to focus on specific issues, like the children's experience of the conflict between their parents, and the children's preferred parenting schedule, or how much time the children would like to spend with family members.
Non-evaluative views of the child reports are available under sections 37(2)(b) and 202 of the ''Family Law Act''. They are available when parents agree that a report should be prepared, or when a judge or arbitrator orders that a report should be prepared. In most cases, the person preparing the report will speak to each of the children once, or twice at most. Because the person preparing the report isn't providing an opinion, they won't be interested in reading reports about the children, reviewing materials filed in court, speaking to the parents, or speaking to people who know the family and the children. ''All they're doing is describing what the children have told them.''