Intimate partner violence screening for separating or divorcing parents: An introduction to the mediator's assessment of safety issues and concerns-short (MASIC-S)

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a leading cause of separation and/or divorce. IPV may not stop after separation, as parents who use IPV can continue intruding in the lives of parents who experience IPV due to unsafe parenting arrangements that allow continued frequent contact and thus risk further abuse. Therefore, it is critical that separating/divorcing parents be assessed for IPV and ongoing safety concerns. Parenting arrangements (e.g., physical and legal custody, parenting time) may not include the appropriate protections if IPV has not been uncovered and/or considered. Unfortunately, many existing IPV screens for family court processes have limitations. The Mediator's Assessment of Safety Issues and Concerns-Short (MASIC-S) was designed to address these limitations. Results from the MASIC-S may be used to inform and create parenting arrangements in the best interest of the child. We provide recommendations on how MASIC-S results can guide family court practitioners in parenting arrangement disputes. These recommendations are based on the existing literature and guidelines regarding the relationship between parenting arrangements and child-wellbeing following separation/divorce in the context of IPV. We also discuss areas in which additional research is needed to help determine parenting arrangements most suitable for separating/divorcing parents with a history of IPV. The use of an IPV screen in family law is necessary for effectively considering how to increase the safety and improve the outcomes of parents and children during and after the separation or divorce process.We offer recommendations, based on existing research, to help family law practitioners effectively screen for IPV among separating and/or divorcing parents.We introduce two versions of the Mediator's Assessment of Safety Issues and Concerns-Short (MASIC-S), an IPV screening tool we developed for family law practitioners and discuss how MASIC-S screening results can assist practitioners in disputes over parenting arrangements.