LOMBARDI GET A NEW JOB YOUR UNFIT IN MY EYES
My Son recently went before Lombardi in family court. Who is this person, why are they in any position of power over custody ? I will be doing my research about this one. He was not allowed to talk, or say anything.
What kind of system is the Chester County Family Court putting on here???? I will be back after my research, these Masters, Judges, whatever they are have no clue, and they do not care about the kids, if they did they would let parents talk, our poor children count on these people deciding their future ????? In my opinion they have no clue and they need to get with it and not count this as a everyday humdrum job, ask questions, it may be your line of work and boring, but kids and families are suffering because of your ignorant decisions… Will be back, stay tuned.
submitted by chris of chester county
Hey Chris,
The person you speak of is a Master. The carry the same weight as a Judge in their given area. They can Order all sorts of things and since its their court room they can call the shots.
If you want the Court to speak to your child you have to advise the court by serving the child and provide notice to the other side.
The Court operates by a series of rules and you can find Chester County local rules online by visiting the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts (AOPC) web site.
If you don’t have an attorney (you really should have one) you need to bone up on the local rules and the areas related to family law in PA. Don’t make the mistake of getting pissy with the Hearing Master – you will not win points or custody of your child.
If you have been ordered to have a child custody evaluation read up on the posting on this blog. If Bruce E. Mapes was appointed – you should ask that a court reporter be present during the interview. He will butcher the truth beyond recognition. Mapes is not trustworthy. He is a Court whore who will make up a story that best serves the side who can give him more referrals.
Let us know if Mapes is involved there is some additional information you (and anyone else) need to know before working with this “professional”.
Hey Chris I share your concern.
This ‘Master’ refused to speak with my child (12). Both her and myself have a PFA against her father because he had attacked me in front of her and now she is scared to death.
Over this past summer, Lombardi forced my daughter to visit with her father (SUPERVISED thank God) But he still ended up hurting her leaving bruises on her that lasted a week.
CYF will not do anything because he did not break a bone and it wasn’t life threatening.
This sends a clear message to abusive parents out there that as long as you don’t break a bone or cause serious physical harm that it is OK to hurt your children.
The entire system needs overhauled… I am afraid, because my EX has the cash to fight and to get custody of my daughter, we are going to court soon and he has filed for full custody.
She is so afraid, that I think she will end up running away or hurting herself.
GM,
I am sorry to hear that you and your daughter are going through this. It sounds to me that you need to have an attorney working on our behalf. Cost may be a factor but it is really a priority that you have someone on your side.
A wise attorney once told me that it is not about the facts of the case, what would be a just outcome – its about the law. If you don’t know all of the twist and turns in the law for sure you will be taken advantage of.
It would appear to me that you have an opportunity to bring Mapes in to testify about the so called evaluation he performed on you – but you have to send him a subpenia to appear. You can also subpenia all of his records as part of the process. Once he is there you have the right to question the day lights out of him.
PLEASE OH PLEASE catch him in his lies while under oath and on the stand. We who have met with Bruce E. Mapes know is an ASS that will stoop to any means get more referrals from the Court.
If I can offer any assistance please contact me.
He is on the witness list for the other party.. My atty says that Mapes is ‘Highly” respected by the courts in Chester County.
I cannot believe someone so controversial would be held in high regard, especially when it comes to our children.
gm,
I hope you haven’t gone to court but have your ears open and listen carfully. He will make statements for the party he represents that are not in his report: Take the time to ask follow up questions. Seems to favor the party PAYING him to testify, IMO
Dr. Mapes is a hack, he charges $1800 to do an evaluation then meets with people for an hour and a half, also he on Chester County payroll and turns out a report full of errors and even misspelled several words including having my child’s name wrong at least 3 times. Say my ex spouse “Tends to present herself in a more positive light” also says that she seemed to have more of a plan, sounds like a contradiction. When most people do a report and it has errors you tend not to put much weight into it. My advice: from the parent that was “open and candid”, devise a story to paint the other parent as unfit, make false allegations, get people to lie for you and lie (don’t worry even if you are caught under oath doesn’t matter it’s family court in Chester County PA). These masters are a joke one master recommended a co-parenting counselor who after I brought up many issues about my ex-spouses parenting short comings made ridiculous comments including the following; My ex-spouse told my then 5 year old to lie to me “That’s okay because we had not discuss travel plans” so have a 5 year old lie for the parent? Also my ex-spouse was “Allowed” to take my 5 year old around her 45 year old pot head brother in law, “why would you have a problem with that pot heads are non violent; it’s illegal but they are non-violent”
I reported Master Lombardi to a Judge about 5 years ago in a custody case because he allowed the mother(I was step mother in the case) to attack my husband and I at the time in the presence of the children and also sided with her after that as though he was afraid of her?? I believe he was reprimanded because when we went back in we were with a different mediater and I received dirty looks from that day on. Most recently I allowed him to make decisions in my support case(not knowing I could disgaree because clearly he has personal resentments toward me), I lost 11,000 in arrears and he caused my son to lose a signifigant amount of child support monthly…all because he can and not using the evidence I presented.
The last 12 years of my life, as well as the rest of my sons life and mine as well have been AND WILL BE thouroughly FUCKED UP, because of that piece of shit lombardi. I am now living on my tiny sailboat and stealing to survive. I will have my vengence in this life or the next.
You may not like Lombardi and I probably would be angry as well, BUT your comments are too over the top. I say this because your comments can be viewed as a threat against Lombardi. The last thing you want is to be picked up for making a threat against a judge or have to appear in his court again.
Be careful.
We all know the problems of divorce, but the family court system in chester county is broken from top to bottom. Its a fun fest between the lawyers, the judges and experts like Bruce Mapes.
How is it that an expert (like Mapes) take and appointment from the court to inform and advise the court. Mapes is a represenative of the Court…an extention of the Judge. Why then does he peddle his services to the highest bidder in the case. Why would he be called and paid for by one attorney? Why would he charge a huge fee? He was appointed as an expert to advise and inform the court. As such he is entitled to only the small fee that is permitted under the law
Mapes breaks the law all the time, he is a criminal, a lier and lackes ALL ethics as a professional. The judges know he is a lier – but its a country club at Chester COunty Court. Even the DA knows Mapes is lier but they do each other favors.
Bruce Mapes should be in jail!
I am going through the same thing in Montgomery county. It is a nightmare. The abuse is being completely ignored. I’m being viewed as the one with the problem, because i present with all the classic symptoms of abouse (hysterical, paranoid, blaming, etc.). I’m so afraid of losing my kids. the evaluator just yelled at me and I don’t even know why.
The problem with these child custody evaluators is not just limited to chester county – it happens all over. The system is so broken!
If you think that the evaluator has over stepped the terms of the court order, is acting outside of his/her professional ethics or is not acting in an unbiased manner you MUST let the Court system know.
The evaluator was appointed by the Court to advise and inform the court NOT play judge, not be the lawyer and not be the lap dog of one party. If the evaluator is not playing by the rules, is being unfair, is outwardly biased or is acting in outside of his/her professional responsibilities (APA guidelines and standards) you have no recourse but to inform the court.
Pennsylvania rules changed a few years back that deny your right to report the professional for unethical conduct and puts it back on the Judge to enforce the rules related to ethical compliance of the professional. The Judge is the ONLY one that can help you at this point.
File a complaint with the Court against the psychologist. If you dont have an attorney you can file this complaint by yourself. Just use the format from other legal papers you have received. Take it to the Court House and file it. Copies need to be sent out.
Every Court has a child custody whore that just does what they want and has given up ethical practice long ago. You must fight back – these so called professionals must be held accountable and taken to task when they act in ways that are outside of the rules.
Good luck
It is believe that Bruce E. Mapes, Ph.D, engaged in a pattern of misconduct while acting as an officially appointed representative of the Chester County Court of Common Pleas. These occurrences of misconduct extend over a period of months; were deliberate and purposeful; and intended to deceiving and misleading the Court.
It is believed that Dr. Mapes, while acting in an official capacity, committed multiple acts of misconduct in the matter of Smith vs. Smith (in custody). Dr. Mapes’ misconduct involves:
• Acts of making false sworn statements in the above matter;
• Acts of written false statements in the above matter;
• Violations of state and federal statutes governing privacy and the release of protected health information;
• Acts of intimidation and retaliation;
• Failures to comply with the Commonwealth’s Professional Psychologist Practice Act; and
• Failures to follow APA standards and guidelines (as mandates in Commonwealth’s Professional Psychologist Practice Act);
Dr. Mapes was fully aware that his unsworn written and sworn statements were untrue at the time they were made. Further these falsifications were made with the intention of directly deceiving a judicial official; impede the judicial process and discrediting and impugning my integrity. Dr. Mapes committed these acts in a deliberate manner and when confronted with authoritative documentation of his improper conduct as well as his affirmative responsibilities, engaged in retaliation by way of questioning my competency.
The evaluation completed by Dr. Mapes and the report of the evaluation reflects a highly biased observer; reflects major failures in objectivity; failures of professional conduct, breaches in professional practice, failures of honesty and truthfulness and a total disregard for my civil rights. The Court MUST conduct a thorough investigation of Bruce Mapes and take any and all actions to remove Dr. Mapes as a Court appointed expert.
The following is offered in support of these allegations of criminal misconduct:
Unsworn falsification to authorities.
Dr. Mapes made numerous false written statements contained within the written report that he filed with the Chester County Court of Common Pleas, Administrator of Family Court.
a) Dr. Mapes opens his report indicating that “Name did not provide information concerning how he met (his wife), nor about the marriage, as he did not believe this to be relevant to the evaluation”.
Written documents submitted to Dr. Mapes coupled with the content of Dr. Mapes very own report of evaluation submitted to the Court do not support this to a true statement.
b) In his official evaluation report as submitted to the Court Dr. Mapes, , wrote the following false written statement: “When Name first submitted his history form he indicated that he would like to have custody of Name. However, when he was seen by the psychologist [referring to himself] in March, he indicated that he would like to have more time with Name but because she is extremely dependent upon her mother and he is not going to push for custody of Name”.
The written documents submitted to Dr. Mapes and the content of my oral responses to Dr. Mapes do not support this to be a true and accurate statement. It is further noted that during the course of the clinical interview with Dr. Mapes this issues was not raised and therefore could not have possibly been discussed.
c) Dr. Mapes states in his written report to the court that the reason for this evaluation was “to assist the court in determining the best interest of older Name.”
A Temporary Custody Ordered signed by The Honorable John Hall does not support this to be true statement. As a result it is believed that Dr. Mapes failed to fulfill terms of Judge John Hall’s court appointment and it is further believed that Dr. Mapes made this statement with the specific intention of misleading and deceiving the Court.
d) Dr. Mapes withheld key information regarding the biopsychosocial functioning of former wife and her current living circumstances.
This information was clearly discussed during the clinical interview with Dr. Mapes. It is averred that this information was purposely withheld by Dr. Mapes to cover his false statements as noted in sections a, b and c above.
Perjury or False Swearing
Dr. Mapes made numerous false statements while under direct and cross examination while providing testimony in the Chester County Court of Common Pleas.
a) Dr. Mapes represented to the Court that the only way he could proceed with the court ordered involuntary evaluation was if I voluntarily signed an informed consent form agreeing to the evaluation. He further led the Court to believe that this method of informed consent was a requirement of the American Psychological Association.
APA guidelines and standards do not support this to be a true statement. It is believed that Dr. Mapes purposely withheld information from the Court concerning his affirmative ethical responsibilities related to informed consent.
It is believed that I would not have been held in contempt of court on September 17 had Dr. Mapes accurately informed the Court that APA standards exempt him from obtaining informed consent “when psychological services are court ordered or otherwise mandated” (APA Standard 3.10 (e) re: Informed Consent).
Violations of state and federal statutes re the release of protected health information
Dr. Mapes released HIPAA protected health information to opposing counsel on May 19 and again on May 14 which were not authorized by consent or Court order to make this disclosure.
a) There is no doubt that Dr. Mapes made unlawful disclosures. What is so troubling about this release is that an appointed representative of the Chester County Court of Common Pleases failed to follow the applicable state and federal law; denied that he made these releases (while under oath) and later represented to the Office of Civil Rights that the release was permitted by and through his Court appointment.
Dr. Mapes expressed in writing to me and later to the Court that he is “not representing himself as a non-health care professional nor a non-covered entity”. In short, Dr. Mapes, by his own words and testimony, stated that he is a HIPPA covered entity. HIPAA and the privacy rules are not new. These regulations have been widely disseminated through professional organization, licensing boards, professional journals County Office of Mental Health, State, Department of Health, etc. It will be difficult for Dr. Mapes to make a case that he was uninformed or unaware of his duties to protect my health information.
a) Dr. Mapes’ professional licensing act specifically states in plain and unambiguous language that he is obligated to seek written authorization prior to revealing confidential information. Correspondence from Dr. Mapes, prior to this release confirms that he practices within the limits of his professional practice act, and adheres to the APA ethical standards, and was aware of his obligations to seek written consent, yet Dr. Mapes made these unlawful disclosure.
As Licensed Professional Psychologist in the Commonwealth, Dr. Mapes’ is required by his professional practice act (Principle 3(e) of the Board’s Code of Ethics) to act in accord with American Psychological Association (APA) standards and guidelines. The APA standards and guidelines are very clear that written authorization must be obtained prior to revealing confidential information. Correspondence from Dr. Mapes, prior to this release confirms that he practices within the APA standards and guidelines, and he was aware of his obligations to seek written consent, yet Dr. Mapes made an unlawful disclosure.
The “disclosures for judicial and administrative proceedings” provision in 45 C.F.R. § 164.512(e)(1)(i) permits a health care provider to disclose protected health information contained in a report of an evaluation ordered by the court provided that only the health information expressly authorized by the court’s order is disclosed. In this specific instance the Court did not authorize Dr. Mapes to release my protected health information. It is believed that he was fully aware of this.
It is understood that the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania has a more stringent set statutes and protections than the HIPAA regulations provide.
Intimidation and acts of retaliation.
Dr. Mapes engaged in a course of conduct that was retaliatory in nature and used (abused) his official court appointment from the Chester County Court of Common Pleas to do so.
a) As a result of my questioning Dr. Mapes policies and procedures around informed consent; confidentiality and protections of health information and pointing out that he had not been truthful in court, Dr. Mapes immediately question my competency to sign an informed consent form. Dr. Mapes recommended that a competency evaluation be performed. Dr. Mapes had no justification or cause to question my competency and such actions were purely retaliation and harassment
b) It is believed Dr. Mapes questioned my competency as an intimidation tactic so that I would force me to release portions of my HIPAA protected medical records, thus avoiding an independent competency evaluation and additional costs.
Failures to comply with the Commonwealth’s Professional Psychologist Practice Act
Dr. Mapes has committed numerous violations of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s Professional Psychologist Practice Act including, but not limited to, failure to follow ethical standards and practice guidelines, including those established by the American Psychological Association, viz., the Guidelines for Child Custody Evaluation in Divorce Proceedings (APA)
a) The Bureau of Professional and Occupational Affairs provides administrative and legal support to 27 professional and occupational licensing boards and commissions. Professional licensing protects the health, safety and welfare of the public from fraudulent and unethical practitioners.
b) As a result of changes to Title 23 (Domestic Relations) of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes at § 5315 (referred to as Act 175) it is now impossible for citizens involved in a court ordered custody matter to “file a complaint against a licensed health care practitioner with the practitioner’s state licensing board during the pendency of the matter and for 60 days thereafter”.
It is believed that Dr. Mapes purposely delayed the scheduling and completion of this evaluation until such time as Act 175 was in full effect, thus limiting my ability to seek a review of his misconduct with the Commonwealth’s Bureau of Professional and Occupational Affairs.
Failures to follow APA standards and guidelines
It is believe that Dr. Mapes has committed numerous acts of ethical misconduct prior to and during the course of this involuntary court ordered evaluation. Specifically his misconduct involves 8 areas of ethical misconduct of the American Psychological Association.
a) Ethical standards that Dr. Mapes violated are as follows:
3.01 Engaging in unfair discrimination
3.03 Engaging in harassment
3.05 Having Multiple Relationships
3.06 Engaging in a relationship that present a conflict of interest
3.10 Informed Consent
3.10. (b) (4) concerning parental consent for under aged client
3.10 (c) Failing to follow prescribed procedures
4.01 Maintaining Confidentiality
4.05 Disclosure
These acts of misconduct are very well documented and for the most part involve official records that are on file in the Chester County Court House.
It is clear that Dr. Mapes has engaged in a course of misconduct while acting under an official court “appointment” in Smith vs. Smith. While a single one of these act may be excused as an inadvertent act, however the frequency and magnitude of Dr. Mapes’ misconduct indicates that he engaged in a purposeful course of conduct intended to mislead the court.
For this reason, an investigation of Bruce Mapes is absolutely necessary to preserve the integrity of the independent evaluation process, the rights of children and families and to maintain the reputation of the Chester County Court of Common Pleas – Family Court Division.
Act 112 of 2010, the new Pennsylvania custody law completely erases prior custody law and may end Bruce E. Mapes, PhD meal ticket.
The new law takes effect on January 24, 2011, but if your custody cases commenced prior to January 24, 2011 you’re stuck with the old law including the potential of having a Child Custody evaluation.
Act 112 is intended to “reform” the law that governs custody, relocation, grandparents/3rd party rights and related issues. Act 112 erases the previous 15 custody laws (i.e. 23 Pa.C.S.A. 5301-5315) and replaces them with 19 new laws (23 Pa.C.S.A. 5321-5040).
Do yourself a favor and get informed about these new provisions and how they may impact you and the custody of your children. You can find a copy of HB1639 (which was signed into law by Ed Rendell) at:
http://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/legis/PN/Public/btCheck.cfm?txtType=HTM&sessYr=2009&sessInd=0&billBody=H&billTyp=B&billNbr=1639&pn=4468
Everyone, please post these stories on http://www.wheresthefairness.com. They are trying to tackle corruption in the three ring circus called Family Court
Anonymous
Master Rich Lombardi needs to be stopped! Chester County Family Court is running a primitive “dog and pony show” with no accountability for their actions from the gatekeepers deciding on what PFA and Emergency Custody Hearings get through, to Master Lombardi’s uniformed decisions based upon fabricated allegations which rip families apart. The Chester County Family Court is violating basic CIVIL RIGHTS of PARENTS and CHILDREN and it needs to end.
Chester County Family Court has NO child advocate on staff. Delaware and Montgomery Counties both employ professionals trained in child advocacy laws and rights. Our poor children are the true victims of this failed court system. Children are being manipulated in the hands of scheming adults as they become “pawns” to suit these adult’s selfish needs and desires. Unknowingly, parent’s and children are ripped apart and “proven guilty until innocent” in this “circus of clowns” of a family court system.
Today 7/7/2011, my hearing with Master Lombardi was conducted with NO DUE PROCESS, COURT REPORTING or records for Lombardi to review for ACCOUNTABILITY. In Lombardi’s final ruling, he appointed the infamously corrupt “custody evaluator” Dr. Bruce Mapes for our 3rd “custody evaluation”, not realizing that Dr. Mapes was our 1st “custody evaluator” in which we paid $12 thousand dollars. Lombardi must also not have read our 2nd custody evaluator’s report warning my ex-husband to discontinue alienating my sons from their mother and to give mother increasingly more custody with recommendations for the ex-husband to seek medical assistance for his SEVERE psychological adjustment disorder?
This torment needs to END! I and a few friends will be making changes in The Chester County Family Court system. Come join us! Contact information is forthcoming.
I agree with you.. the entire court system needs to be geared for the KIDS…. my 14 yo daughter is being forced to choose between sending me to jail OR visiting her abusive father.. AND suffers from PTSD, and suicidal ideation and homicidal ideation towards him. The courts lay a very HEAVY burden on a child yet wants to keep them disengaged from any court proceedings. It doesn’t make sense. This PONY SHOW.. has to stop! from the “masters” who don;t even address what is put before them, to Mapes and Hess who remind me of two burnt out money grubbers. I felt EXTREMELY uncomfortable leaving my daughter alone in a room with either of them. Being that my daughter was asked in graphic detail about what her father did to her ( by Mapes). Neither one is “kid friendly”. Furthermore, neither of them can spot a Sociopath when they are sitting right in front of him. Unless they choose not to recognize him as such, because he happens to be a very wealthy sociopath and can afford to pay… so they keep this BS going on and on and they do not care what it’s doing to my daughter.
I am with you… whatever you want to do. We need to do SOMETHING!
I dealt with Randy Hess for almost 9 months of “reunification” conseling. What a joke. My son has been turned against me by my STBX. I was trying to heal those wounds and get him to spend some time with me. My son had said on numberous occassions that he would run away from me if he was forced. When it came time to spend some time at the beach my son wanted to go with me…I was concerned if I had to correct him he would run away like he said. Randy Hess, in front of my son said “… I think you need to take him with you.. “after thinking about it for a lnog time I decided not to take him… Our first session after the trip..Hess admitted that it was probably best that I did not take him….Of course this was not said in front of my son…so he is left with the memory of me not doing what the “doctor” thought was best. After months of following his “plan” it came time to have my son spend an over night with me..Hess said well lets not push this .. he wanted to take more sessions to work up to the weekend visit. Of course he does not aceot insurance only cash…what do you think it it was al about… we stopped seeing randy. I dont know if any one else has any suggestion as who may be a good therapist.
First things first. Randy Hess is a social worker, not a doctor. Of course you have to understand that most behavioral health services are not covered by insurances unles u use a network provider. Services like reunification therapy will rarely be covered. It takes time to build a positive relationship and even more to do the hard therapeutic work. It’s costly…but a well made investment. If you have an old fashion (non-HMO) you might get some of this covered under the major medical section (long shot). Keep in mind that the cost of counseling can be deducted on IRS as medical if you met the standards. If you have a cafeteria plan at your office put some money in a health spending account.
I don’t know where u live but the center for relationships in Paoli or exton offers an excellent program with highly qualified staff. For my hard earned cash the center for relationships is top shelf. They were called penn council for relationships (as in the university of penn).
Good luck…
Randy Hess is all about money. Like all of them. He failed to recognize destructive, abusive behavior in my ex , downplayed his potential for causing harm to our child, refused to notice that there was an incredibly huge secret that my daughter was holding inside and totally dismissed the terror she felt when they were together, So instead of figuring out the reason WHY my daughter did not want to be with her abuser, he made them be together, even ordering supervised visits.
.I had a restraining order against my ex as does our daughter. When my ex came after me and screamed at me, Randy hurried to corral him back into his house/office. But he told the police that he did not recall hearing the door open and close. I recall seeing Randy bring my ex back into the house. I do not trust him. Randy kept saying to me “There is a method to my madness” How about no method and he could be just as crazy as he seems? He even charged me $100 for a 10 min phone call,,,, telling me that putting them two together would be like putting a band aid on a bleeding wound… would he say that in court? NO He did not relay how dangerous it was for the to be together.
This whole custody determination process in Chester County is so bogus. You have a few major players like Bruce Mapes and Randy Hess that appear to be as corrupt as the day is long. Seems that they lack ethics and should be removed from the approved list of for idlers in Chester County. Often they are court appointed and take advantage of children and familys by not being honest all under the “court appointment”. It’s time that these jokers be exposed. A petition on Change dot org may expose this “professionals” for what they are.
OK, CHange dot org is excellent. (keywords: Mom, held ) take a peek at that one,,,, it should make you cringe. Now who wants to write the one to expose Hess and Mapes?
What I have come to realize is that the Masters and Judges in Chester county do not want to make a decision on the facts in front of them. They take the easy way out and follow the recommendations of the “professionals” that are “trained and educated”. This way they hold no real responsiblilty for the bad outcomes. They hide behind others rather then take a stand for what is right.
Has anyone gone in front of a family law judge in Chester County and felt they got a “fair shake”?
What you say is very true. The Judges in Chester County Family Court deflect their RESPONSIBILITY to other so called “professionals”. They call that expert testimony. However, where the Judges go wrong is listening to jerks like Bruce Mapes that makes no sense in his writing, his report and clearly not his expert testimony. The Judges are duty bound to get to the truth and make make a decision based on the facts. It is so unbelievable that Someone like Mapes can offer half truths, lies and in some cases pure BS and the Judgs buy it hook line and sinker. Face the facts, they are all in bed with one another.
I’m with you, your observations are spot on. After 4+ years dealing with Chester Family Court. I’ve come to realize It only protects the best interest of the Lawyers, Masters and Evaluators.
PLEASES contact us at reformfamilycourt@gmail.com
Who is “us”?
http://www.change.org/petitions/mom-held-in-contempt-for-not-forcing-14-yo-to-visit-abusive-father
Anonymous, who was the opposing counsel?
David Melchiore
Is David Melchiore good in custody ?
gm and Dwight – Are you interested in joining this battle?
PLEASE CONTACT US AT reformfamilycourt@gmail.com
Absolutely! Bring it on! Harrisburg knows what is going on in my case, but it wouldn’t hurt if some other people will take a stand.
I am ready to join the battle. The system of using unprofessional and unethical experts must end. How much longer can parents and kids be exposed to the type of biased and incomplete evaluations conducted by Mapes. Please lets bring it on and get organized. Let’s chat. Gm you know how to contact me.
Anonymous
David Melchiore encourages his clients to tell grave lies to Masters and allows families to be ripped apart based on PERJURY. He has children of his own and he needs to evaluate the value of parental bonds before unethically allowing his clients to abuse the crippled Chester County Family Court system. Melchiore has proven to be unethical and he is out for the money ONLY. May God help him when he stands before the Lord come judgment day. Answer is NO David Melchiore is not good in custody.
I agree David Melchiore is out for MONEY ONLY. He has no regard for the family unit nor the truth. He is NOT A GOOD CUSTODY LAWYER.
I just don’t get it. The Chester CountyFamily Court System is so dysfunctional that it allows so called professionals like Bruce Mapes to continue putting forth false statements, twisted and turned stories based on half truths, intuit key and verifiable facts, bring bias into high stakes evaluations, break court riles and violate individual civil and judicial rights. This is Justice Chester County Style. SO! WHAT THE HELL ARE WE GOING TO DO ABOUT IT?
Look families, if you have been abused by Bruce Mapes during the custody evaluation process you need to organize. Comments on Chester County Rants are helpful, however, main stream Chester County may not read these posts, have no idea of what sort of crap parents are exposed to during the course of these evaluations. We need someone in the main stream to help us get some main stream press coverage. Without getting organized this crap will continue and many more families will be pulled apart.
Look Chester County is a very backwards and clearly does not want ANY negative press. Ever ounce of news in Chester County is controlled by the Daily Local News. We need to organize, stage a protest event and let the Philadelphia papers and news organizations know the date and time of the event.
Anyone willing to organize and stop this crap once and for all?
How can we get in touch with you?
reformfamilycourt@gmail.com
Here’s a vignette that appeared on the PA Psychological Association web site that is very similar to what Bruce Mapes did and continues to do. Interesting reported reaction (anger) of the other psychologist who attended the training. How should those of us who have been subject to Bruce Mapes warped evaluation process feel? See below the Vignette and the 2 responses.
Vignette 4
A psychologist is treating a client who is involved in a legal proceeding. The client presents the psychologist with information about a well-known, local psychologist who released confidential information to an attorney without a signed release or court order. After the psychologist reviews the information presented, it is clear to the treating psychologist that other psychologist breached confidentiality.
The treating psychologist knows the local psychologist who released the information, but does not have a strong relationship with him. The treating psychologist is questioning what to do. The treating psychologist believes the options are:
1. Address the matter with the other psychologist directly.
2. Refer the matter to the State Board of Psychology.
3. Encourage the client to file a complaint with the State Board of Psychology.
Are there any other options?
What are the possible emotional reactions to this situation? And, how would you, as the treating psychologist, deal with those emotions?
What is a likely course of action?
Posted by PPA’s Ethics Committee at 7:22 AM
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Labels: Confidentiality, dilemma, Ethics, Ethics Education, Vignette 4
2 comments:
GS said…
Assuming that the treating psychologist learned this from the client in the context of therapy, then unless there is mandated reporting required by state law, the issue is confidential and cannot be acted on without the client’s consent. Since any processing of a complaint may expose the client to an invasion of his/her privacy, the decision to complaint might be a substantial one. I would advise the treating psychologist to obtain peer consultation as a way to balance things, and to discuss the issues with the client, seeking to have the client make a complaint and/or to authorize the psychologist to do so. Even a peer confrontation might not be possible without client consent. In terms of complaint options, if the local psychologist is an employee or partner in a clinic or other facility, a facility complaint is an option. For a confidentiality violation, the Human Rights Commission of the federal government also handles such complaints due to HIPPA (although that would be lower on my list).
GS
July 3, 2011 12:28 AM
JG said…
RS and I used this in a recent workshop. Those who responded indicated that they would be upset and angry with the psychologist who released the information. Some participants suggested that they seek out consultation with someone they trusted to vent about their anger so that emotions would not distract from the key issues.
The conclusion reached by participants: the first response is to process with the patient and figure what they want to do. Then, the psychologist needs to balance the client’s wishes with the psychologist’s value system and ethical responsibilities.
Additionally, there is usually no immediate time limit on this dilemma, other than the psychologist’s emotional response (and possibly the client’s need for something to occur quickly). So, the psychologist has time to process with the patient and seek consultation.
In Pennsylvania, we have a Legal Consultation Plan. For only $150/year, the PPA member can use up to 3 hours of attorney/psychologist time for ethical and legal issues pertaining to their practice of psychology.
http://www.papsy.org/practice-resources/lcp-info-and-payment-link.html
July 4, 2011 7:37 AM
Does anyone know anything about Linda Shope? The Master said we need to use her for our evaluation and I hear the same things about her as everyone is writing about Mapes. Also, it seems like the Master’s only use a few select evaluators…Is this true?
pleas contact us at reformfamilycourt@gmail.com
Seems to me that the Daily Local should use the Freedom to Information Act and investigate Family Court in Chester County. Maybe no one has dug deep enough to find the problems? Maybe the Masters and evaluators have a crooked relationship but how about the Judges and the evaluators? I will bet they are more on the straight and narrow. no?
Rebecca, I have no idea about Linda Shope’s child custody evaluations. She has a bogus certification in custody evaluations but is otherwise well qualified. She is a former big shot with the Chester County Office of MH/MR and retired after many years of service. If the Masters are requiring you to see her there may be a good reason in selecting her over Mapes. Or perhaps the Masters are catching on that Mapes is a horse’s ass. My thought is that you might get a better evaluation process (more on the up and up) than you would by the unethical process that I was subjected to by Dr. Mapes.
Of interesting note is that I submitted Vignette 4 to the PA Psychological Association based entirely on my experience with Dr. Mapes. Your see how his peers reacted (UPSET and ANGRY) in the midst of an ETHICS training to the facts of the case. If they knew that it was Mapes who made the unlawful release, his peers may have reacted more strongly against him considering he is a Board member of the PA Psychological Association and has taught ethics courses for the PA Psych Association.
I would not count on the Judges verses the Masters being more fair in their approach to Mapes. He has given very specific training on Child Child Custody and visitation matters to the entire Bench (judges and masters). He is appointed as their expert not yours and not the other side. Mapes will then somehow offer his professional services to the side that can pay him the largest fee. Sounds like a conflict to me.
The local press has been for years very biased in their reporting. The full news and issues that impact the citizens in Chester County are so heavily filtered. Reporters would not know news if they tripped over it. The paper would never, never carry a story that has the potential to uncover dysfunction of our Local Court. it would be unthinkable that they would ever speak out against a Creep like Bruce Mapes.
The best thing you and your ex could possibly do is to put your differences aside and come up with a plan to parent your children. Here is the reason why- You will be spending thousands of dollars on evaluation fees, tens of thousands on legal fees, court fees and in the end will end up with a joint custody arrangement. In short you will be broke and have no funds to send your kids to college. Your lawyers will have billed you thousands, promised you a positive result, you will be subjected to great humiliation through a custody evaluation and still will end up with a shared custody arrangement.
So Rebecca, as painful as it may be, you and your ex should consider making your own agreement with things that are important to each of you and have your attorney make a custody stipulation. Frankly, you will save a ton of money, have a more livable custody agreement and put an end to all of the bickering that happens in front of the kids. Look the standard agreement that comes from the Court may not include all of the things that are important to you and your kids. kids need to know and have involvement with each parent to the limits that its a safe and healthy arrangement. If you guys can come to a safe and healthy arrangement you should be encouraged to do so.
Best of luck,
So here is a question. Mapes’ has a master degree in general psychology, and a doctorate in education (not educational psychology). He puts himself out there as an expert in child custody yet he lacks specific training in this area. He is a so called expert in assessing sex offenders, is the preferred expert psychologist in evaluating mentally retarded kid for Chester County CYF (budget line for $10,000 this year).
Here’s the question: is he really an expert in child custody. His background shows no specific training. Furthermore, his back ground shows no specific training in some of the tests he administers. For example to qualify to obtain and administer the MMPI a very specific set of requirements are in place by the test maker. He does not have the qualifications in his background.
He’s such a shitty interviewer because his master’s program did not require a supervised placement so that he could get the supervision needed to gain the skills. It was a general psych program NOT a clinical program.
If he were to apply for a state license to practice psychology in PA today he would not be qualified to even take the test. Some expert we have here.
I have been dealing with Chester County and their Family court since 2005. They do not act in the best interest of the child, ignore relevant and pertinent information (like a child witnessing her father assault her mother). In 2007, I spoke to the PA Human Relation Commission whose representative stated that the Court discriminated against me, it was not within their jurisdiction to do anything about it and recommended I hire a Civil Rights attorney to bring a Civil Rights Action against Chester county and the Court in Federal Court. My daughter and I went through enough and I chose to let it go. Now my ex is back to his usual balony and I’m back in Court. Fortunately, once I get through an evaluation with Mapes, my ccase will be transferred to York County. I am so sorry to hear so may others are going through and have gone through the same hell in Chester County as I have.
Take everything you read here as a learning tool as you approach the horses ass – Bruce Mapes. He will piss on your leg and convince you that it’s raining. He is so unethical. I wish you well in your evaluation with Mapes. just be on guard. The only way to beat this ass hole is keep detailed notes and send him a copy of what was discussed.
Bruce E. Mapes, PhD, psychologist in West Chester, PA violated my civil rights by releasing protected and confidential information about my health care to an attorney. He did not have my consent to make the release and release of such information was not a matter of the court ordered report he was required to file. The report is all that he is allowed by law to release unless the court orders him to fork over the documents. In this case the court did not request that the info be released.
Confidentiality is at the heart of everything psychologists and the practice of psychology hold near and dear. Without the assurance of confidentiality people will be less willing to be open and honest. The context of the service, prison, court, or private office is not the issues – it’s that fact that he violated a BASIC responsibility as a practicing professional psychologist in the State of PA. He is a member of the American Psychology Association and he agreed to follow the rules that apply to confidentiality. It does not matter if you understand the rules or not. As a member of APA you are obligated to follow them. He did not in his work with me and for many of you I’ll bet he did not follow the rules either.
Help nail Dr. Bruce E. Mapes to the wall. File complaints with the American Psychology Association (ethics office) if he did not follow the rules in conducting your child custody evaluation. The guidelines are posted on the APA.ORG web site. Look at ethics, look at standards for conducting a child custody evaluation. Then look at the requirement that professional psychologist must follow to remain licensed in PA. If you feel that Dr. Mapes treated your case in an unethical manner help to remove him from the profession. He has already ruined his career but he may need your help to fully understand how he did this to himself. Won’t you help Dr. Mapes to see his unethical conduct. You know he’ll try’s to blame everyone else for ruining his career but will never look to his own conduct as the cause. He will blame the post on Chester County Rants that cause his fall, or it was the unfair review of a case or two in the public eye, or even specific people that are picking on him. The sad truth is that the only person to blame for unethical conduct is oneself.
Take a stand. Take action.
Monto is just as corrupt, as is philadelphia county. Evaluator Maddie Jane Sobel has violated the code of ethics on several counts and has not been taken to task. When are the courts going to stand up against corrupt evaluators who make decisions based on the judge’s opinion, for political reasons, or find in favor of the party who can pay the evaluator more. There has to be something the people can do to stop corruption in the family courts. If we work together, we can at least make dent in the corrupt system and hopefully prevent more innocent children from being devestated by corrupt evaluators.
I know it is. That’s because there is big money to be made by the evaluators for evaluation fees and then witness fees. It’s a very well paying part-time job. Just do three cases per month at $3,000 to $5,000 and one witness case a month and your up near to $100k a year. No add some therapy clients and no doubt you are making a very handsome annual salary.
The person you referred to as Maddie Jane Sobel was made famous in two cases that she really f’ed up. One in 1987 and the other in 1999, both cases involving sexual assaults on young boys. In both cases she offered witness service and in both cases her testimony was highly questioned and eventually wound up in the Suprem Court of PA. She flipped then flopped, then flipped again in the 1999 case and for ever more will be referenced in the court cases and as a footnote in many others. Sort of a shame to go down in history in that way.
I didn’t see a record of her having be brought to the Social Work Board for ethics violation(s). Wonder if you have any further information on the sort of ethics she may have violated. If you want to write her up for an ethics violation, share the facts and I’d be happy to review. Visit the PA department of State for the license requirements for social workers, professional counselors and marriage and family therapists. They are in the health boards. She puts herself out there as a Diplomate in Clinical Social Work so you could also flile a complaint with the National Association of Social Workers. The Diplomate designation is the highest credential that NASW has for its members. With this highly recognized credential comes a lot of responsibility. Visit NASW.org for further details on ethical underpinnings of the profession and ethical standards for the DCSW.
Just be certain that you follow all of the requirements to file with either the State Liciencing Board or NASW. You sure don’t want your complaint thrown out because you didn’t follow the filing procedures.
Good luck.
I agree with you 100 percent that something must be done about the games that get played during child custody evaluations. I have always thought that there should be an independent source where people who have experienced a violation of rights should have access to on an immediate basis. Here is my thinking on this matter:
1 according to the law if you are court committed to undergo one of these evaluations – you have no rights to refuse and can not make a complaint.
2. If you were court committed under other circumstances say the mental health laws there are very elaborate practices (called due process) that assure your rights. In the event that certain rights were violated there are procedures to bring the matter to a review panel and actions taken swiftly.
3. If you were arrested you would have clear rights that all participants know and understand. If they are violated there is a clear pattern to stop the abusive process.
4. In the current state of affairs persons in a court committed evaluation have no ability to file a complaint and have no rights of due process until well after the child custody matter has bee determined. The psychologists fought for that little gem.
5. As it stands the only party that can intervene in a child custody matter gone wrong is the judge. Now how many judges do you know that understand or would be willing to investigate an ethics complaint. The have no jursdiction do so under the current licensing requlations and jurisdictional matters. the only grout that can pursue ethical violations the the appropriate licking board – but you can’t get the matter in front of them until months after the final custody matter is heard and determined.
6. In effect you have no, zero, zilch ways of having the matter reviewed by the very board that is established to protect consumers from in ethical professionals. You are being denied access to the very panel charged with protecting you rights until it is too late. How do you unring a bell once the report has been heard and determined.
7. The Psychological association in Pa want to protect their members from what is said to be “malicious filings” against the professionals. Unfortunately, having been gone through one of these evaluations it is clear that the evaluator in my case acted in very unethical and unprofessional ways.
8. If an ethics complaint is filed, realize it will not be heard for well over 1 year from the original filing.
In short, you are without any recourse, have no rights and have no way to make a honest complaint against the unethical practices of a professional. I seriously recommend that an independent group be set up on a county or regional basis to file legitimate complaints. For example in my case the psychologist released federally protected health information to the other side without my consent, and without a judge order. A very clear violation of my rights but according to the psychologist child custody evaluations are not covered under the protected health innformation act (HIPAA). Well long story short, the report is not covered under HIPAA but the only information in the report is covered. All other information is considered protected.
We need to get a movement started to make some positive changes in PA.
I think that each county should be using an employee to conduct child custody evaluations. Every county has a Children and Youth Services with plenty of experts on matters of children and family. In Chester County there are many CYS workers that have master degrees in social work and years of experience. Sure could be a great source to make up for budget short falls. Why not use these experts who can and do offer expert (and unbiased) insight into family matters. They are often called by the courts in all sorts of child and family matters.
When it comes to sentencing of criminals, a county employee is used to conduct a pre sentencing evaluation. There is no extra payola for these employees to give their expert opinion, offer testimony or otherwise advise the judge.
Our system is broken and boarders on corruption when testimony is for sale to the highest bidder. The evaluators can never be neutral when there is the offer of a fee for testimony – often several thousands of dollars. The expert is appointed by the court to advise the court not sell their story to the highest bidder.
The appointed expert witness should be prohibited from being a paid witness to any of the parties other than the court for 90 days following the heariother the evaluation results. In other words the expert should remains engaged as the expert to the court and receives only a small Witness fee paid by the court.
Our child custody system needs to be fixed and the only way to fix it is to take the money out of the equation. If these so called professional lose the ability to get big witness fees then they would be more likely to be honest and offer reports that reflect the best interest of our children. Money and fees compromise professional ethics and motivates greed. Just do away with the payola and see how quickly the environment of child custody evaluations change.
Would anyone be willing to be interviewed on camera for an upcoming television show to discuss and make light of the shortfalls in family court? Please call us at 215-380-8019
Still interviewing?
I sure will.
The above number is registered to a person named Jay Ciccarone who works with a group called Where is The Fairness (wtf for short). He was recently in the news for some not so upright stuff including being charged with spying on his wife, illegally reading his daughters emails and god knows what else. It’s all right on the Internet – just type in his name and you’ll see it all. WTF, Mr. Ciccarone!
Warning, warning – This would be a fella to stay clear of given his very recent arrest September 2011. If you try to contact him by phone (the number provided) and have your caller I’d turned off – the call is not accepted. Sounds like a he’s up to no good if he has to avoid blocked calls.
What about all of this Mr. Cicerone? Fill us in, please.
Police Press Releases
10/16/2011 8:30 AM
ARREST OF JAY ANTHONY CICCARONE
After a lengthy investigation, Tredyffrin Township Police Department arrested Jay Anthony Ciccarone and charged him with the following:
1. Unlawful Use of Computer
2. Interception, Disclosure or Use of Electronic and Oral Communications
3. Unlawful access to Store Communications.
The investigation stemmed from the victim, an ex-wife of Ciccarone who had made allegations to police that her daily activities were somehow being monitored.Through the investigation, information was uncovered that the defendant had made comments to others that he had been monitoring his ex-wife’s activities.
In October of 2010, Detective Sergeant John Bailey had the victim’s computer forensically examined and through this methodical process a computer program known as “Web Watcher” was detected. It was subsequently determined through the investigation that this software package is known to work by recording all manner of activity on a specific computer without the knowledge of the user. This includes keystroke logging, and capturing all email and internet activity. The program itself is designed to be completely “stealth”, meaning that it is hidden from the intended victim.
In September 2011, after a Court order was executed and the information obtained, a warrant of arrest was issued for Ciccarone. Ciccarone was taken into custody Monday evening and arraigned before the Magisterial District Judge Mark Bruno in West Chester. Bail was set at $7500.00 cash, which the defendant posted.
Please direct any questions to Detective Sergeant John Bailey at 610-408-3649.
Source: Tredyffrin Township Web Site
Jay, wtf (where is the fairness)? Fill us in of what happened.
Anonymous Jay(wtf) Ciccarone allegedly (ya) ripped off tens of thousands from people in the pottstown,pa area. Just one of his scams. He should be investigated for other crimes in the same range as his cyber stalking one. I would advise his nieghbors to password protect computers. Jay is just a low life predator.
Hmmm..laughing
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