Thank you for considering this survey. MA AFCC is dedicated to serving as a supportive resource for all professionals who provide services to the Probate and Family Court and Juvenile Court, including continuing education, mentoring and peer support, and advocacy.  While Judges and Administrative Court personnel routinely acknowledge the importance of our work and express appreciation, we know that frustrations and challenges abound among professionals who provide forensic services.

With that in mind, we are conducting a survey to obtain the most accurate understanding of the make-up and practices of our community. Our goal is to promote a supportive and effective working environment that facilitates our ability to meet the needs of the court and the families it serves, with consideration for job satisfaction of forensic practitioners. Please consider completing this survey, because achieving solutions will only be possible if we have real feedback from YOU.

As we are aware that a decision to complete a questionnaire with full honesty may cause some concern, all questionnaires that are submitted in response to this request will be anonymous. No personal identifying information will be linked to your answers to this questionnaire in the data analysis or the sharing of results within MA AFCC, the national AFCC organization, or to the public.

There are four sections below.  The first section is for all MA AFCC members, and the last three sections are for the specific professional roles that may be relevant to your work.

 

SECTION 1 - FOR ALL MA AFCC MEMBERS
What’s your profession? (please check all relevant):
What services do you provide to individuals/families who are involved in a Probate and Family Court proceeding?
What percentage of your professional work is dedicated to services that occur in the Probate and Family Court?
How many years have you been providing those services referenced above?
How many more years do you plan to provide those services referenced above?
What, if any, are the supportive resources you access to support your work in this area? (select all that apply):
How did you get experience in this area? (please select all that apply):
How stressful do you find this line of work?
How would you imagine the stress in this line of work compares to other work you could be doing in your profession?
SECTION 2 -FOR MA AFCC MEMBERS WHO HAVE SERVED, OR CONTINUE TO SERVE, AS GUARDIAN AD LITEM CATEGORY “E” OR “F” - Otherwise, proceed to Section 3
Are you a Category E GAL?
Are you a Category F GAL?
Do you accept both E and F GAL appointments?
Are you currently on the approved List of GAL’s in Massachusetts?
If you answered “no” to the above, "approved List" question, please indicate if any of the following are the reason:
If you are not on the approved list of GAL’s, do you still receive Court appointments as GAL?
What is your current waiting list to accept new GAL appointments?
What percentage of your GAL appointments are private pay?
What percentage of your GAL appointments are state pay?
How many state pay cases do you perform, on average, per year?
How many state pay cases are you offered each year that you reject, on average?
What are the challenges, ranked from 1 (highest) to 5 (lowest), that might cause you to reject a State-pay case? (Do not rank any category that is not applicable or has no basis for rejection)
1. Highest Challenge2.3.4.5. Lowest Challenge
Pro Se Litigants
1. Highest Challenge
2.
3.
4.
5. Lowest Challenge
Socio-Demographics of litigants
1. Highest Challenge
2.
3.
4.
5. Lowest Challenge
Geographic location of County litigation
1. Highest Challenge
2.
3.
4.
5. Lowest Challenge
Hourly Rate of State pay
1. Highest Challenge
2.
3.
4.
5. Lowest Challenge
Interfacing with court administration (for motions, instruction, etc.)
1. Highest Challenge
2.
3.
4.
5. Lowest Challenge
SECTION 3 - FOR AFCC MEMBERS WHO HAVE SERVED, OR CONTINUE TO SERVE, AS PARENT COORDINATOR; Otherwise, proceed to section 4):
Are you currently on the approved list of PC’s in Massachusetts?
If you answered “No” above, do you still receive Court appointments as PC?
What is your current waiting list to accept new PC appointments?
Please list the reasons, ranked from 1 (most difficult) to 5 (least difficult), that pose as the challenges in performing PC work:
1 - Highest Challenge2345-Lowest Challenge
Pro se litigants
1 - Highest Challenge
2
3
4
5-Lowest Challenge
Socio-demographics of litigants
1 - Highest Challenge
2
3
4
5-Lowest Challenge
Number of children in the family
1 - Highest Challenge
2
3
4
5-Lowest Challenge
Parties separated or divorced at least two years before you were appointed
1 - Highest Challenge
2
3
4
5-Lowest Challenge
Difficulty interfacing with court administration (for motions, instruction, etc.)
1 - Highest Challenge
2
3
4
5-Lowest Challenge
SECTION 4 - FOR AFCC MEMBERS WHO HAVE SERVED, OR CONTINUE TO SERVE, AS A THERAPIST FOR FAMILIES/INDIVIDUALS INVOLVED IN LEGAL PROCEEDINGS; Otherwise scroll down to the bottom of the survey to submit your entry
Do you work only with individuals?
Do you work only with families?
Are you willing to provide court-involved therapy that is 100% virtual (online)?
Do you require that the adults consenting to treatment agree that you will not testify or provide updates to the Court unless ordered by the Judge to do so?
Do you require that the therapy be Court-ordered?
What is your current waiting list to accept new therapy assignments?
What percentage of your therapy practice consists of court-involved clients?
Do you provide therapy to the following court-involved clients?
YesNo
Minor children ages 4 to 11
Yes
No
Minor children ages 12 to 14
Yes
No
Minor children ages 15 to 17
Yes
No
Families with more than two children
Yes
No
BEFORE YOU SUBMIT YOUR RESPONSE